Tom Heinl - With or Without Me

Who says music that’s good has to be serious? Not Tom Heinl, that’s for sure. Hailing from Eugene, Oregon this one man band blends a bit of comedy with a bit of Cash and Haggard to create one of the weirdest, funniest albums I have come across. Right from start you hear the picking and a grinning of good ole fashion country music. The opening track “Mama”, harkens back to the old timeless country themes (mama died and daddy’s drinking himself to heaven). You could slip it in a jukebox between the oldies and no one would notice a thing. From there the album takes a little turn though. On tracks like “Three-Way” (about a sex romp gone wrong), “Peein’ In An Empty” (about not stopping for nature on a road trip), and “Christmas Tree On Fire” (about, well, a Christmas tree on fire) you see what the album is really all about; satirical and funny lyrics that are well written and real, backed by timeless music. Ending the album is a, let’s say, “unique” version of the country standard “I Love”, complete with Tom’s own lyrical tribute to things ranging from “old elbow skin” to “a young Haley Mills.” Not only is the album filled with music that will make you smile, but the album is in “Stereoke”. After the albums eleven tracks are done, there is a brief track of silence before the eleven tracks repeat themselves, minus Tom’s lead vocals. So, your friends and family can get drunk, gather around the stereo and sing your hearts out. The concept makes more sense with a little history. Tom once had a band, but one day he got a gig at a party and couldn’t get his band together in time. Instead of canceling he just took some 4 tracks he had around, dubbed out the vocal track, took a stereo with him to the party, hit play, and sang along. A couple of his band mates, who were at the party, came up and politely told him, “we quit!”, and Tom has performed that way ever since. While the extra tracks are something most people will never actually take advantage of, they’re a nice little extra and why not through some extra fun on a disc? Overall, this is a great little surprise of a disc. It’s fun and it’s good old country music. Most importantly it doesn’t just make up things to be funny, it’s real. I mean who hasn’t been hammered in a restaurant at 2 a.m. (see the track “IHOP”)? [www.tomheinl.com]