Adam Gaffney & The Balladeers – Product of Another Sad Song
All the pop country releases that chart lately are by talented & fine musicians, but the question still is…is it Country? Some is passable. Others are a bit far afield of the true tradition. Its spirit. Country & Western itself is not as popular as it once was, but like a strong river current, there must be tributaries that still fill that essence.
Adam Gaffney is a tributary. His voice has experience, he’s lived it, laced with a creative thread & while it isn’t as baritone deep as the late Jim Reeves, strong as Johnny Horton, as distinctive as Johnny Cash, he has a stable, well-expressed country spirit that stamps his performance as genuine. Not as twangy as Randy Travis, but he is a troubadour of a down-home country brew. “Don’t You Cry” & “Product of Another Sad Song” are both sad, superb ballads. Everything a good, strong country tune should be. With 17, count them, 17 tracks to Product of Another Sad Song (Dropped May 8/Independent/59:20) produced by Jorge Valcarcel.
Adam’s not an alt-country artist. Don’t sell that tag when he’s an authentic country artist (on this LP anyway). Songs like “Cut Off Again,” the poem “Before You Turn the Carpet Into Tile,” & the final song “When Tomorrow Comes Around” are not alternative. They are country. These aren’t in the tradition of Steve Earle, T. Bone Burnett, Lucinda Williams, or Kinky Friedman. He’s closer to Willie Nelson on “Cryin’ For You,” while “Come On Back For Good” reminds me of the intonation & phrasing of Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
Oh, Adam will cruise along the rim of the glass of alternative with “Conversation Blues,” but he never dives headfirst into anything truly alternative — not with that voice. Too countrified, rural & prairie wind. Tunes have Gaffney guitar, harmonica, & piano playing. What most writers fail to grasp is that “alt-country” has more to do with the subject matter, the themes & not just how an artist sounds. If it’s country with a pinch of rock in it…then it would be country-rock. Unless, of course, you’re Neil Young, which Adam isn’t. That’s alt-country. What Adam is is a songwriter who writes poignant tunes like “Pretending It’s You.” Adam’s planted in deep country soil despite his St. Louis address. His focus is deeper lyrically; the material is formulated as good storytelling, with serious country jabs & tempered by poems.
Highlights – “Darlin,” “Lay Me Down,” “Conversation Blues,” “Don’t You Cry,” “Product of Another Sad Song,” “Pretending It’s You,” “Come On Back For Good,” “Cut Off Again,” “Nomad,” “Before You Turn the Carpet Into Tile,” & “When Tomorrow Comes Around.”
Musicians – Austin Jones (guitar/vox), Ryan Gillespie (bass/vox), Laura Noelani (drums), Kendall Scott (pedal steel), Karen Choi (vocals), Evan Farris (keys/organ/accordion/vox), & Fred Friction (narration).
Color image by Evan Endicott courtesy of Baby Robot Media. CD @ Bandcamp & https://adamgaffneyepk.com/
Song Premiere: https://americanahighways.org/2026/05/05/song-premiere-adam-gaffney-and-the-balladeers-nomad/