VA - Strut My Stuff: Obscure Country & Hillbilly Boppers (2019) [Hi-Res]

It's almost certainly a coincidence rather than a product of careful planning, but it's interesting that Strut My Stuff: Obscure Country & Hillbilly Boppers, a collection of rare, small-label C&W sides of the '50s and '60s, was released in September 2019, roughly the same time that Ken Burns' PBS documentary series Country Music ended its initial television run. Burns offered a thoughtful and reverent portrait of the celebrated artists who made country a medium that spoke with honesty and heart about the lives of working people. Strut My Stuff, on the other hand, is a loving tribute to some of the many C&W musicians who never got anywhere close to stardom, but had a ball playing the kind of music that filled up dance halls and honky tonks back in the day. With a few notable exceptions, nearly everything on Strut My Stuff counts as a dance tune, upbeat numbers that put a strong two-beat behind the fiddles and slide guitars while the lyrics share tales of love and heartache, funny stories of ordinary lives, boasting from singers and DJs dreaming out loud of fame and fortune, and the occasional warnings about getting too big for your britches. This music was made with the express purpose of having a good time, and each of the 32 selections here lives up to that promise, whether Tani Allen is griping about Army life, Chuck Ray is assuring us he's not too old to have fun, Luke Gordon is revealing his good reasons not to trust his wife, Freddie Frank is telling us about one unusual oil prospector, or Weldon Rogers is displaying backwards thinking about women and their ability to handle an automobile. The performances are rough and ready throughout, with an impressive amount of quality picking and an abundance of energy, and it's hard to imagine anyone listening to this set and not cracking a smile at least four or five times. Burns offered a fine history of country music, but one told by the winners; Strut My Stuff allows us to spend some time with the also-rans, and it turns out their stories are every bit as enlightening and their music just as exciting as the folks who made it to the top. Whether you already love vintage country or are just starting to explore the roots of the music, this is a must and a whole lot of fun. ~ Mark Deming