Hank Williams III Albums (4)
'Damn Right, Rebel Proud'
Release Date 12/18/2007
Tracks 13
Label Sidewalk
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Hank Williams III is an outlaw. Just ask him, he'll tell you...actually, you really don't need to bother, because Hank III goes out of his way to tell us about his whiskey guzzling, dope smoking, hell raising ways on nearly every track of his fourth album, Damn Right, Rebel Proud. While Hank made it clear on Risin' Outlaw and Lovesick, Broke & Driftin' that he had no use for the watered-down formula pablum that oozes out of Nashville these days, it wasn't until 2006's Straight to Hell that he made a record that really honored the hard-wired spirit of a guy who played bass with Superjoint Ritual when he wasn't singing pure, unfiltered honky honk country. Damn Right, Rebel Proud picks up where Straight to Hell left off, and like that album it's enthusiastically offensive enough that Curb Records has declined to put their name on it, instead reviving the Sidewalk Records imprint to keep a safe distance from songs like "Candidate for Suicide," "H8 Line," and "P.F.F" (which stands for "punch, fight and f -- -"). From a musical standpoint, Damn Right, Rebel Proud is every bit as solid as Straight to Hell; the weatherbeaten twang of Hank's voice is the perfect instrument for his updated honky tonk howl, and his band (especially Andy Gibson on steel guitar and Dobro and Johnny Hiland on lead guitar) cooks with gas, sounding tighter than ever and roaring with enthusiasm at a speed that would send most country acts off the rails. But lyrically, too much of the time all Hank has to tell us is he's messed up and ready to rearrange some faces, and while these are inarguably classic themes in both country and metal, he hasn't found enough ways to rework the formula to make the same message compelling for 50 minutes. It's worth noting two of the album's best tunes are ones that find something else to focus on -- "The Grand Ole Opry (Ain't So Grand)" takes Nashville's most venerable institution to task (with good cause) for disrespecting Hank's granddaddy and whitewashing country's history, while "I Wish I Knew" is a broken-hearted lament that's a first-class beer-drinking weeper. But when Hank takes on the voice of a rape victim, throws a cookie monster howl over the tale of a jacked-up trucker, or pays apparently sincere homage to G.G. Allin (who wasn't an outlaw so much as a psychopath -- just ask the woman he set on fire), he overplays his hardcore hand and sounds like he's writing for a third-rate black metal band, and Hank has made it clear he's capable of better things. Before Hank III makes his next album, maybe he should ask himself a question Waylon Jennings posed many years ago -- "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got out of Hand?" ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Anyone hoping that Hank Williams III's "Hellbilly" metal band Assjack would finally make it onto one of his albums is still out of luck, but Hank III's third solo effort Straight to Hell comes close to getting their no-quarter spirit onto plastic, if not their sound. Taking the no-frills hard-country sound of 2002's Lovesick, Broke & Driftin' as a starting point, Straight to Hell pumps a good bit more darkness into the mix; mostly recorded at home on a digital portastudio, Straight to Hell begins with a sample of the Louvin Brothers' "Satan Is Real" interrupted by a burst of demonic laughter, which then segues into the title tune, a testimony to a life of cheap thrills and dangerous living that sounds like a classic string band rounding the corners at 90-miles-an-hour with empty bottles of bourbon propping open the windows. A similar mix of old-school country and chemically-fueled rebellion run through songs like "Pills I Took" and "Smoke and Wine," and even the less menacing tunes like "My Drinking Problem" and "Angel of Sin" boast too much swagger and grit to fit comfortably on the radio next to Toby Keith or Gretchen Wilson. While Hank III's self-mythologizing outlaw stance is not entirely unlike that of his father, there's a crazier and more sinister energy to Straight to Hell than Bocephus has ever conjured up on record, and numbers like "Country Heroes" and "D. Ray White" eloquently testify to his notion that bad craziness is a long and rich tradition along the margins of Nashville. (He also has a few things to say about Hank Jr. hanging out with Kid Rock on "Not Everybody Likes Us" to confirm he's most certainly not turning into his dad.) The album's most extreme departure point, however, is the bonus audio collage "Louisiana Stripes," which combines a handful of high-lonesome tunes with layers of ambient noise, bits of found dialogue, dub-wise echo and reverb effects, stray telephone messages, and sound effects ranging from thunderstorms to gurgling bong water. There's a pure and soulful musical vision at the heart of Straight to Hell no matter how much Hank III lashes out against the confines of current country music and messes with the form, and that's what makes him most valuable as an outlaw -- there's lots of long-haired dope-smoking rednecks out there, but not many that can tap into the sweet and dirty heart of American music the way Hank III does, and Straight to Hell proves he's got a whole lot to say on that particular subject. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Lovesick, Broke & Driftin''
Release Date 1/29/2002
Tracks 13
Label Curb
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Hank Williams III has repeatedly made it clear that he was unsatisfied with his debut album, 1999's Risin Outlaw. So this time around he took matters into his own hands, producing Lovesick, Broke & Driftin' himself and recording and mixing the release in a truncated span of two weeks. This appears to have been a good decision for the DNA marvel known as Hank Williams III, for the album is a much less-forced, more organic effort than his debut. This time around he relies primarily on his own songwriting chops -- with the exception of a questionable version of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City," which trades the stark power of the original for bouncy honky tonk -- and not on contributions from folks such as Wayne Hancock. The effort revels in the paradox of being a Hank Williams; "Calling Your Name" finds him reaching out to the Lord, while "Mississippi Mud" and "Nighttime Ramblin' Man" are fiercely unrepentant, glorying in the allure of long drinking bouts and pot smoking. (The latter being Hank Williams III's updated spin on the Williams mythology of debauchery.) The title track is the kind of downtrodden, whiskey-soaked number for which his grandpa was known, while "Lovin' and Huggin'" is more in line with the good-time party anthems his dad has ridden to success. The biggest surprise here, however, is going to be the emotional range of the album; Lovesick, Broke & Driftin' makes it clear that Hank Williams III is not content to sit back and trade on legacy. He has emerged as a songwriter to be taken dead seriously. ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Hank Williams III's debut album Risin' Outlaw presents 13 tracks that show Williams' affection for authentic, rough around the edges country. From the catchy, driving album opener "I Don't Know" to his honky tonk vocals on "You're the Reason," Hank III blends his famous heritage with his own musical outlook. Ballads like "Lonesome for You" and up-tempo tracks like "If the Shoe Fits" show off Williams' ability to be purely country as well as original. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
