John Baumann: Country Shade
I fear we’re living in the strangest of times
Where no matter where you stand
You’re always on opposing sides
John Baumann seems to sum up 2020 with those lines from “The Country Doesn't Sound the Same,” the opening track of his latest record Country Shade. With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing live music to a sudden halt, the usual cycle of touring to promote a new release has kept Baumann off the road and you may have missed out on this record when it came out in June. It deserves a closer look.
Asked about a narrative for the record Baumann says, “The primary one…is about the changing state of rural America.” It’s the subject of the songs that bookend Country Shade. He says, “They’re protest songs, in a way.” The double meaning of “The Country Doesn’t Sound the Same” deals with the current state of country music as well as the feeling that the “noise runs round the clock” and keeps the nation divided. “Grandfather’s Grandson” closes the record and tells the story of the dangers threatening his family’s farm. “My grandparents’ ranch has been in our family for 100 years. It’s in Lockhart, Texas, on a rural patch where rolling plains meet Blackland prairie,” Baumann explains. “There’s been so much development the past few years, with strip malls and a toll road moving in, to a potential landfill going in right behind the property.”
Baumann shares writing credits with a few heavy–hitters on some excellent songs that are the real strength of Country Shade, his third solo album. Producer Justin Pollard has written a few classics of his own (Pat Green’s “Wave on Wave” for one) and co-writes “Homesick for the Heartland” here. Grammy-winner Aaron Raitiere (A Star is Born movie soundtrack) shares credit for “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.” This is a damn fine country song and Baumann does it proud. New Braunfels, Texas, writer Drew Kennedy (Jason Boland’s “Bourbon Legend”) offers help on “Daylight’s Burning.” All three tracks are built around the acoustic guitar and are solid country songs which is a John Baumann hallmark. He just delivers one great song after another.
The tempo picks up for “Flight Anxiety” where Baumann details his intense dislike for being in an airplane. The track offers some comedic relief from the otherwise serious tone of the album.
It’s not like Country Shade is full of sad songs of depression and woe, not at all. It is a record meant to be taken seriously and is Baumann’s most mature offering to date. The other tracks on the record are all penned by Baumann and follow suit: country songs about people, relationships, and getting through life the best way you can.
With country music moving off in so many directions these days and sometimes pushing politics and special interests ahead of the music, it is refreshing to hear an album full of well-written country songs delivered by a genuine country singer. This may not be “classic” country music but it's real and in this lost year of 2020 we need more of that.
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