Ron Houston – R.O.A.M – (Real Outlaw Americana Music)
Ron Houston has a new album with ten songs of high caliber outlaw country music with a touch of folk: R.O.A.M (Real Outlaw Americana Music). R.O.A.M was produced, recorded and mixed by Jeff Berkley; recorded at Satellite Studio, and mastered by Robbie Robinson at Robinson Mastering.
Right off the bat you’ll notice that Ron has one of those Johnny Cash-like, low end, sincere sounding voices that makes a good outlaw country song great. “Whiskey Train” opens the album but this is a reflective rumination on being on the whiskey train, rather than an enthusiastic white hot speeding train song.
In the midst of this “pre-pop-invasion” outlaw style country music are also some memorable lines. Like this on from the second track “Lines on My Face,” where, amidst the easy banjo, “if you must know who I am, just read between the lines on my face.” Excellent.
“People Lookin’ the Other Way” is a tale of what happens late at night when you’re “walking down the street late at night when the moonlight’s shining bright” and that alienating feeling when “people are lookin’ the other way, and I ain’t got no place to stay.”
“Waiting on a Miracle” shows a little vocal vulnerability when Ron sings “I’ve been broken down right from the start” in a spacious number. “Blood on the Mountain” showcases some lone plucked banjo and more genuinely human introspection: “when that sun comes up I won’t be around.”
This album is outlaw country with more than one layer of sensitivity and reflection. So for that matter, it might also be considered a folk album with extensive outlaw country energy.
Musicians on the album are Ron Houston on lead vocals; Jeff Berkley, Jerry Raney, Joey Harris, and Marc Intravaia on guitars; Rollie Love, Christopher Hoffee, and Ken Dow on bass; Matt Lynott and Joel Kmak on drums; Shawn Rohlf on banjo; Melissa Harley on fiddle; Josh Weinstein on keyboards; and Cathryn Beeks, Joshua Taylor, and Sandi King on backing vocals.
Find more details, show dates and information here on his website: https://ronhoustonandtheberrypickers.com/
All songs were written by Ron Houston except “Gun Sale at the Church” by Buddy Blue; “Waiting on a Miracle” by Tim Flannery; and “Life on the Edge of a Knife” by Jeffery Wise.