Buck 65 - This Right Here is Buck 65

Country and hip-hop? Come on people, don’t look so incredulous; it’s been brewing for a while now…and no, this record’s not a joke. Buck 65 is an ashtray-voiced balladeer/ DJ from Nova Scotia, of all places. Mixing pedal steel guitar and turntables and beats along with his gritty storytelling style, which is more like old rural Americana storytelling than the abomination that has become country music, think of it more like a slightly hip hop Tom Waits record (a comparison Buck 65 apparently cultivates, but who can blame him?) This Right Here is Buck 65 is a compilation of re-tooled, previous released material from his last several indie-label records. Amazingly, he’s on Warner Bros. now; although it’s hard to see how those guys will market him. Can’t see it played on hip hop stations at all. On country music stations? …it could happen. The album starts out promising with “Bandits,” a Spartan, guitar-driven tune with a vibe not unlike “Rawhide,” with only a brief moment of record scratching in the beginning to inform you of what the hell you’ve gotten yourself into. Lyrics come in conversational rural American stream of consciousness: “Stunt man wife/Back alley mattress/Wrath of addicts/Underwater second language mathematics,” until a clipped, rapid fire lyrical barrage ensues, only to return to more cowboy impressionism, all propelled by a single snare. After that, Buck 65’s lyrics are more straight forward, bitter-sweet tales of everyday life, dark childhoods, oh--and what sounds like the confessions of a centaur on a psychiatrist’s couch - all with dreamy atmospherics, countrified guitar and pedal and electronic beats. A lot of This Right Here is Buck 65 doesn’t quite live up to the promise of that opening track. (maybe he has more in common with other hip hop acts after all) Not that it’s bad, just not as good. For a musical marriage with so much to prove in most folks’ eyes, the album is admirably subtle and restrained. This Right Here Is Buck 65 is definitely worth a listen for the curious. If a classic, country-tinged hip hop album is in the realm of possibilities, this isn’t quite it. But if anyone can make such a thing in the future, it could very well be Buck 65. [www.buck65.com]