Today we've teamed up with outlaw country revivalist Craig Gerdes to premiere and stream his highly anticipated new album, Smokin', Drinkin' & Gamblin'. We've been...
Today we've teamed up with outlaw country revivalist Craig Gerdes to premiere and stream his highly anticipated new album, Smokin', Drinkin' & Gamblin'. We've been "highly anticipating" the disc—which will be released February 16 via Sol Records—since we featured the album's first single in our guide to 2017's 10 Best Roots Releases. Now you can check out that tune, not to mention the entire album, below.
If you're not a fan of rockin', rappin' and endlessly disappointin' modern country music, you'll probably love Gerdes' vintage, stripped-down, honest, lean-and-mean approach. The album sounds like it's straight out of the late Seventies or early Eighties—and it fits comfortably alongside recent releases by honky-tonk hero Whitey Morgan.
Gerdes' sound is packed with high-lonesome pedal steel guitar, gritty six-strings, well-seasoned vocals and strong imagery ("They found him dead in a box in Kentucky"). Best of all, Smokin', Drinkin' & Gamblin' was essentially recorded live in the studio.
"All the vocals, bass, drums and acoustic guitar you hear are the original, unedited live performances," Gerdes tells us. "There's a level of honesty and sincerity in this record that I’ve never captured before—including some minor imperfections. I hope it makes the album more accessible, relatable and genuine. I'm proud that this recording has no auto-tuning, no sampled drums or studio trickery. It’s all vibe—raw and real.
"We did all of the initial tracking live at the Sol Records studios in Indiana with Brian DeBruler on drums, who also recorded and produced the record," Gerdes adds. "I had previously recorded in Nashville and done things in a very structured environment with charts, click tracks and rigid time schedules, which always seemed to mechanize the process. I was looking for something different with Sol.
"Before we started, I asked Brian, do you want