When I was 12 years old, we lived in the middle of nothing. The hare ears just brought in two television channels, and the hills around us meant that the network station from the nearest huge town only occasionally arrived. Alas, the PBS station was distinct as a bell, and there between that station’s sandy documentaries and mind- soothing news reports on textile factory strikes in Bolivia, I had just one respite: the many- beloved music showcase” Austin City Limits”.
It first saw The Wagoneers blow the roof off on “ACL” in 1988, and also, if you know about Monte Warden and The Wagoneers, you know. They were rapidly gaining professional victory at the time in the late 1980s. The Wags were signed to Herb Alpert’s significant brand A&, M while Warden was still a student, and to give you an idea of what that meant, simply three state acts were actually signed to A&, M: Waylon Jennings, Gram Parsons, and The Wagoneers. The Wagoneers ‘ claim to be a nation band is a bit simplistic, though, as they distinctly evoked the beginnings of rock and roll.
On and off the level, Warden has a fervent love for Elvis, and there’s a chance that he might be the most influential person on Buddy Holly’s songs and life. I noticed when I was 12 years old and not forgot about The Wagoneers, and I’m not the most recognizable fan yet because The Wags had created a sound that was at once new and completely classic America. For example, when The Band’s Robbie Robertson passed away last year, Variety lightly mentioned that he was a fan of The Wagoneers.
Of course, there’s a reason why, despite the early success, you probably do n’t know much if anything about The Wagoneers. A&, M data ‘ first album was sold shortly afterward, their sophomore album was flop, and Monte Warden’s personal and professional career took more becomes than Ted Kennedy’s after returning from an business group.
Hitting the Jackpot
While I encourage you to check out The Wags ‘ files, that’s not why I’m exhuming this underrated touch of audio history. Turns out, this is only the beginning of the perhaps most interesting musical tale of the year. Monte Warden, 56, is up with one of the most intriguing and amazing records of this year, or any season for that matter. It turns out he has lived and listened to a lot during the past 35 years.
The song is” Jackpot”! by his group Monte Warden and The Hazardous Some, which is a huge success. It’s difficult to imagine a record that easily and adorably combines so many different artistic styles. Music, bossa nova, state swing, gospeI— I swear there’s also a… dance?
Because The Hazardous Several is basically a music band, and one of the most skilled ones, it represents a significant evolution from The Wagoneers. The Few features a shockingly talented guitarist named Brent Wilson, who is a huge fan of The Wags ‘ extremely tasty guitar person. This is remarkable given that it is a very unique instrument from his native Stratocaster. Mas Palermo, lifelong musician for the Wags and professional developer, is also on the hides around. Erik Telford and Nick Litterski, both of whom love the song with great hooks and melodies that weave in and out of the vocal range, round out the usual suspects, but neither person manages to exaggerate.
A word of praise should be made for Warden’s wife, Brandi Warden, who is also the co-writer and co-producer of the album, and who, aside from being Willie Nelson’s past studio manager, has a number of her own top country songwriting opulence. Her uncle worked as an engineer at Sun Records in Memphis, helping to record classics like” Great Balls of Fire,”” Whole Lotta Shakin’ On,” and” Folsom Prison Blues,” and her father wrote songs for everyone from Johnny PayCheck to Garth Brooks. And obviously, Monte himself is fronting the band, clutching his battered first’ 60s Martin guitar, his strumming hand keeping great time with the new jazz rhythms.
Of course, the best band in the world ca n’t do much with bad material, but The Dangerous Few has got the songs. The first single,” Waxahachie Hoochie Coo,” is a danceable piece of 1960s lounge jazz that was effortlessly danceable and released in one take. Hollywood take note of this record because it is begging to be used on film and TV soundtracks set in the past. The song is known for its funny lyrical approach, which gets listeners to move their feet. You’re hooked from the first lines,” There’s a chick down south of Dallas/She go by Waxahachie Alice”, and from there, it spins out into a series of amusing — but tasteful! — innuendos.  ,
Other notable tracks include” Desperately,” a pretty radical interpretation of the massive George Strait hit Monte and his buddy Bruce Robison were originally working on, and the wild new arrangement only seems to highlight what a brilliant idea it was in the first place. In the best possible way,” Lovesong Every Day” is a resemblance to Glen Campbell from the” Gentle On My Mind” era. The timeless song” It Was But A Small Affair” is a timeless addition to the American standards songbook that features Warden giving an incredible vocal performance. The song could have easily spun out, instead, it’s a perfect exercise in artistic restraint and yearning.
The verse on the title track is a fantastic Latin beat and horn hook that is reminiscent of Warden’s former boss Herb Alpert. It sounds like it came from a different world where Elvis was persuaded to dive head first into the 1960s boss nova trend for his Vegas show. The most straight-forward Americana on the record comes from the gospel quartets of the 1950s, which could have easily been heard on the final track,” Steadfast Love.” Notably, the Wardens ‘ 20- year- old son, Brooks, makes an appearance. His bass-baritone background vocals, which are a confirmed Tennessee Ernie Ford fanatic, almost make the song.
Unique and Fun
Of course, the narrative here is not that Warden has unceasingly resumed his career with this most recent Dangerous Few album. After The Wags ‘ initial breakup, Warden never really left. His unjustly obscure solo album from 1994 was so good that The Washington Post named it one of their albums of the year and the influential New Musical Express in the United Kingdom named it one of the 100 best U.S. albums of the 20th century. He paid the bills by writing songs for other top country artists such as Travis Tritt, Patty Loveless, George Jones, and the aforementioned George Strait.
What makes” Jackpot”! a remarkable record is that it is the product of a musician who, long after others would have abandoned him for the easy way, is still determined to create something original and meaningful long into his career. The legendary Austin honky-toon The Broken Spoke is still being played by the re-formed Wagoneers every month, and his other performance with The Dangerous Few at the legendary Parker Jazz Club downtown has sold out every month for the past few years. Everyone has praised Herb Alpert to Robbie Robertson, he is a two-time inductee to the Texas Music Hall of Fame, and he is a legend in an Austin music scene that has produced more than a few legends. He’s got nothing to prove.
Yet he manages to produce a truly exceptional album, albeit with the assistance of a number of other incredibly talented musicians who deserve much more credit than I’m granting them here. Even though getting heard is difficult in a time when the most important tool for music promotion is, God help us, TikTok, it is a record that manages to be original and sophisticated while still feeling familiar and fun.
” Jackpot”! is available for streaming on Friday and for sale.  ,
