CD Review: "When Country Meets Dixie" - Dukes of Dixieland and The Oak Ridge Boys

CD: "When Country Meets Dixie"
Artists: Dukes of Dixieland and the Oak Ridge Boys
Label: Leisure Music Group
Release Date: 2/28/12


There is nothing more southern than the sound of New Orlean's style Dixieland jazz, but when you throw in a splash of country, you have the ingredients that result in one big bowl of  musical jambalaya!

Now some country fans aren't Dixieland friendly and some Dixieland fans aren't into country so when these two groups decided to get together and see what happens, the result is something that actually makes a great combination called "country/dixie". Why not? The current trend of country is to blend it with every other genre of music from pop to rock to hip hop so why not try blending with the Dixie sound and see what happens? What happens is a 12 song project called "When Country Meets Dixie" and unexpectedly enough, it comes together quite well. The Oak Ridge Boys could sing into 2 Progressive soup cans joined by a string and it would sound good, those boys can sing anything, anytime, anywhere. The Dukes of Dixieland are a group of musicians that would make Louis Armstrong proud. You throw them together with country newcomer Lathan Moore and artists Callaway McCord, Bobby John Henry and Wesley Probst and you have a combination that one can only describe as interestingly good.

The lead in track, "That's What I Like About the South" immediately throws you onto Bourbon Street in a dark, smoke filled jazz joint. That's what I love about this song, the visualization and the fact that right off the bat my toes are tapping. This could be dangerous! The track fades into the first song from Lathan Moore, "Are You From Dixie" and Lathan makes me proud to say "why yes, yes I am from Dixie, thank you". His country voice does a jazz band good! The Oaks take on a "dixie-fied" version of the classic "Just A Little Talk with Jesus" and I think Jesus would like it. You can't go wrong with dixie'd up gospel. The next couple of tracks, "Fatback Lousiana" and "Back in New Orleans" don't really do much for me. This brings us to "Bobby Sue" by the Oak Ridge Boys. This version just didn't work for me. I would have rather heard what they could do with another one like "Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight". I think that would be been great! I know, I know, me not like an Oaks song? I've always liked the song, I just don't care for this particular version. Now the next song, "Jambalaya / I'm Walkin'/ Toot Toot" by Callaway McCord was one I do like, I've always loved all three of those songs and really like this mash up. It definitely had me singing along and moving the toes again. One of the standout songs on this cd, in my opinion, is Lathan Moore's "Closer Walk With Thee" which is track #6. I know I am skipping around, but I'm trying to cover the best of the bases without boring you to death with a critique of each and every song. Are all the songs great, no. Are those that aren't great bad? No. They're just average but that's expected on a cd and true to expectation, that's why you get here. The cd wraps up with my favorite song, one that's close to my heart and that's the Oaks most well known and most loved hit, "Elvira" which made it's debut 30 years ago! This version stays pretty true to the original yet has a real New Orleans marching band style of "oom poppa mow mow" to it that definitely gives it that interesting 'Nawlins flavor.

So ... is everyone gonna like it? Probably not. Is everyone gonna hate it? Definitely not. It's one of those mixes that is gonna appeal to a certain group of music listeners, the ones with the ears that are willing to listen to a new musical blend and not try to discern country from dixie, but instead hear it as a whole. All in all, I think it works quite well. I think it's a great project and one that the artists involved can be proud of.

The cd goes on sale February 28, 2012 and will be available on the Dukes of Dixieland official website and other outlets (TBA Later).

DUKES OF DIXIELAND JOIN OAK RIDGE BOYS AND OTHERS TO INTRODUCE NEW GENRE

When Country Meets Dixie—Two Great Voices Collide

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (January 5, 2011)—Touchstones of Dixie Jazz and country music genres, the Oak Ridge Boys and Dukes of Dixieland, joined to collaborate and record a harmonious new project entitled WHEN COUNTRY MEETS DIXIE. Available February 28, 2012, the blended, dynamic composition of “big band New Orleans jazz meets American barbershop gospel/country” is poised to inspire and entertain generations young and old with its swinging energy and “rhythmatic” performances featuring trumpet, trombone, clarinet and sax (baritone & tenor).

The impetus for the cross-genre project is the offspring of a casual dinner conversation between two friends, music industry powerhouses John Shoup and Jim Halsey. Television producer/manager John Shoup, who has managed the New Orleans-based Dukes of Dixieland band for more than 38 years, posed the idea of the collaboration to impresario and star-maker Jim Halsey. (Halsey has guided the careers of world-renowned, award-winning recording artists Roy Clark, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire, Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, The Judds and The Righteous Brothers, and has managed the Oak Ridge Boys since the mid-70s.) Before coffee and dessert were served, WHEN COUNTRY MEETS DIXIE was already in the mix.

The “Southern to the core” project was actualized with producer James Stroud signing on to lend his talents to the album.

"Initially, we wanted to have this little get-together to see if it worked musically,” explains James Stroud, former head for Giant and Dreamworks Records, current CEO of R&J Records and producer of Tim McGraw, Toby Keith and Chris Young among many others. “We wanted to incorporate some of the sounds the Dukes brought from New Orleans and combine it with what the Oak Ridge Boys bring with their history and successes in gospel and country. The project wound up creating its own sound, its own brand. WHEN COUNTRY MEETS DIXIE is the result of two great American art forms colliding. It's the most unique thing that we may hear musically for a long time.”

The magic began in January 2011. Current Dukes of Dixieland members (trumpeter Kevin Clark, trombonist Ben Smith, clarinetist/saxophonist Ryan Burrage, pianist Scott Obenschain, bassist Alan Broome and drummer JJ Juliano) joined the Grammy award-winning, and new to the Grand Ole Opry®, Oak Ridge Boys (Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall, Richard Sterban and William Lee Golden) in a Nashville studio, The Tracking Room, where history was made.

“We hear the word ‘legend’ often in the music industry,” the Oak Ridge Boys explain. “But, there are some acts that the four of us truly acknowledge as legendary. The Dukes have a unique chemistry and they have preserved the sounds of Dixieland in quintessential style to characterize their music as authentic ‘feel-good’ New Orleans jazz.”

The two groups recorded four songs together, including a wholly unique remake of the Oak Ridge Boys' platinum-selling hit single from 1981, "Elvira," with an irresistibly funky ragtime groove fueling the proceedings. The American quartet contributes their distinctive “Oaks” four-part vocal harmonies to a freewheeling Dixie-fied rendition of "Little Talk With Jesus,” a Professor Longhair-influenced rumba-boogie interpretation of their 1982 hit single "Bobbie Sue," and an authentic “N'awlins” street beat take on the gospel country tune "Unclouded Day."

Adding to the stellar collaboration are recordings from newcomers and veterans backed by the steady playing Dukes of Dixieland. Wesley Probst shares the Tennessee Ernie Ford novelty number "Fatback Louisiana" and Ernest Tubb's "Nails In My Coffin." Oklahoma native Bobby John Henry, who launched his career as a country crooner in the '50s, contributes a soulful performance on the mellow ballad "Back In New Orleans."

New Nashville talent includes Callaway McCord, a 20-year-old firecracker who kicks up the energy level a few notches on a rowdy, hard-driving medley of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya," Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'" and Rockin' Sidney's zydeco classic "Don't Mess With My Toot Toot." Lathan Moore, a new face in Nashville, lends his appealing baritone voice to the anthemic "Are You From Dixie" (a tune originally written in 1915) and also turns in a moving rendition of "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" as well as "I Can't Fight The Moonlight" from the Lifetime TV movie, More Than Meets The Eye (written by Mark Bernard and Richard Addrisi--co-writer of the second most-performed song of all time, “Never My Love”). *"I Can't Fight The Moonlight" track attached below.

Nashville session ace David Spires is also featured on pedal steel guitar throughout, and the Dukes' pianist, Richard Scott Obenschain, contributes spirited vocals on the opener "That's What I Like About the South."

“All involved are masters of their craft and were unique in approach and style,” added the Dukes. “Our idea was to present classic Country tunes with New Orleans grooves and improvised solos and ensembles. It was music magic that was meant to be.”

WHEN COUNTRY MEETS DIXIE will be distributed in partnership with RED Distribution. CD pre-sales begin February 7, 2012 via Amazon and iTunes. Additional information, including how to purchase the record, is available at www.dukesofdixieland.com.