Richard Cabesa’s Music Blog

  In album opener Any Way You Want Me To, Richards delivers some first rate honest music.   The song peaked at #3 on the Texas Music Chart in 2007.  Most men would never openly admit to “I’ll give you anything you want, in your wildest dreams I’ll, wrap my soul around you, anyway you want me to.  I can go anywhere, be anyway you want me to.”  But we have all have that somebody that we feel this way about.  It’s a refreshing attitude for a country love song.   The album goes from love to heartbreak on the follow up song, She Remains.   A catchy song that has a nice rhythm sings about a girl who has left him, yet she still remains “in my heart, in my thoughts, in my pain, she remains.”  I’ve heard a lot of Jamie Richards’ music, but this song may be his best piece of work yet.  The title track Drive, which will probably be the next song released to radio, continues the heartbreak and lonely theme.  Drive is a song that reminisces about the past and remembers the things the man and woman did together and how those memories are so fresh, and brings her memory closer so he continues to Drive.

The play on words in You Don’t Know Jack works well, even if it’s not one of the best Richards penned songs on the album.  The song seems kind of hokey, but Richards pulls it off well.  The electric guitar and fiddle work helps the song tremendously.  This is a good dance floor song, and rather humorous as well.    My first thought of She Hates This Place was that this was my one throwaway song on the album.  But after a couple of listens to it, I’m convinced that it’s a great song about the man who still loves the bar, but his woman, who used to also love it but has now found religion, hates the place.  But by songs end, she’s met him at the bar, signaling she’s meeting him halfway.   And he acknowledges that fact, so he too will meet her halfway and will be at church with her on Sunday.  Aside from being a great song, it’s a good life lesson about compromising.   Hopefully this song will be a radio release later in the year.  Back To Bein Me is an up tempo song about forgetting who you are and then remembering and wanting to go back.  Some of our favorite Texas artist, i.e. Pat Green, should take a listen.   The ballad Whiskey Nights is a wakeup song about losing oneself in the whiskey and losing the woman, so he’s going to change, because “I won’t lose her without a fight; this ain’t no whiskey night.”

No matter how many times I listen to Country Song Waitin To Happen, I can’t help but laugh.  The song has wonderful dance floor appeal, and the lyrics would be something awful for one to live though.  Yet, the song is laugh out loud hilarious.  Nothing can go right for the singer in his life, from losing his wife to his best friend, to missing out on a promotion, to finding out his mother isn’t his mother, but his daddy didn’t tell him that from jail.  Hence, his life is a Country Song Waitin To Happen.  Great stuff from Richards.    I Just Can’t Love You Anymore could have been written about a co-worker of mine.   He can’t get close enough, nor can he get far enough away from her.  It doesn’t matter what he does, it’s never good enough, and she always knocks him down.  He can do a lot of things, but he just can’t love her anymore.   The rocking Leavin Her Leaving Behind has a good attitude about it, but doesn’t drive the machismo that most of these types of songs bring with it.  He’s moving on and not dwelling on her leaving.  But there is no “look at me now” or “screw you” or anything like that.  Plain and simple, he’s moving on down the line.  “The sun may be going down, but tonight I’m gonna shine.   Yea, I’m leavin her leavin behind.”  Well said Jamie.

Initially, Windy Day seems like a spiritual ballad about the singer’s family.  However, he’s the bad apple of the family tree, and he assumes that he must have been born on a windy day.  It’s creative, but not one I particularly care for.  The fiddle led Turn It Up is another heartache song about radio songs that remind him of her.  He no longer turns it up.  Instead he turns it off now.   Peace Love and Hard Liquor obviously is a play off the saying “Peace, Love, and Happiness”.    It will be the perfect ending to a live show since he sings about “goodbye for now” and “see you down the road”.  The singer acknowledges the fact that the audience has spent their hard earned money to come see him sing, and then says “I hope your life is as full as your glass.  I wish you Peace, Love, and Hard Liquor.  If you can’t find the first two, you can always buy the last.”  Pretty funny stuff there.  The album’s closer is a song Richards wrote for and about his Mother, who passed away in 2005.  Julia’s Table is song about growing up in his mother’s house, the sanctity of the place, and how she made it a home.  It gives you an idea of how Jamie’s childhood was growing up in Oklahoma. 

Jamie Richard’s music could easily fit on commercial country radio, yet it’s not commercial.  His music is undoubtedly country, but can still be radio friendly- whether he’s singing classic or more contemporary country.  The only problem is that’s not what country radio plays anymore.  Hopefully, Richards will never compromise his country sound for Nashville Rascal Flatts type pop-music.  Jamie Richards is an extremely talented singer/songwriter, and records and plays the kind of music we should be hearing on country radio today.  Unfortunately we aren’t hearing that on today’s radio.  But lucky for us, he plays in Texas and we can go see him live, which is what I recommend each of you to do.