Song #42: Hank Williams III - "Gutter Town" (2012)
Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town
"Fightin' all night just to keep in line, trying too hard not to lose my mind, watching all the folks doin' the same."
Upon his departure from Curb Records, Hank Williams III proceeded to release four complete albums one faithful day in September 2012. III had accumulated so much material overtime, after being denied numerous releases from Curb, that the only logical thing to do would be to release multiple albums housing all the material. His double-album release - Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town - turned out to be his best piece of work released that day, housing numerous fantastic country/heartbreak/and country-rock songs he's made in his career.
"Gutter Town" stands as being the strongest piece of work on the duo album. It's a song done in vein of the outlaw country, heartbreak songs that III's great-grandfather used to sing, one that details grittier, harsher times in life than what was socially/musically acceptable in the 1930's to the 1950's. III details the hard times he has had with women, with trying to cope with the lack of recognition and respect his music has given him, and discusses, albeit in some vague detail, what his darkest nights entail.
III's vocals and mixing on "Gutter Town" provide the song with a melody darker and more ominous than if a mainstream studio had been where the recording takes place. The song bears a "bootleg" kind of audio and mixing quality, mainly because the song - like the four albums III released in 2012 - was self-produced and self-recorded in III's home "The Haunted Ranch." This is nice for the III fans that want their tracks to have an intimate feel to them, rather than a glossier, more manufactured sound that sometimes comes in through professional recordings.
The song's personal impact on me is that, while I've never been through experiences quite like III, like most people, I still have my harder nights and my nights where it seems all is for nothing, stress becomes too consuming, and I try to think if there's any chance I could be doing what I love for a living. When I do, this song happily joins me on those days, letting me know that there are people with similar, if not bigger, problems and that we can share a ballad together.
Give "Gutter Town" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YChqDeb6LbM
"Gutter Town" stands as being the strongest piece of work on the duo album. It's a song done in vein of the outlaw country, heartbreak songs that III's great-grandfather used to sing, one that details grittier, harsher times in life than what was socially/musically acceptable in the 1930's to the 1950's. III details the hard times he has had with women, with trying to cope with the lack of recognition and respect his music has given him, and discusses, albeit in some vague detail, what his darkest nights entail.
III's vocals and mixing on "Gutter Town" provide the song with a melody darker and more ominous than if a mainstream studio had been where the recording takes place. The song bears a "bootleg" kind of audio and mixing quality, mainly because the song - like the four albums III released in 2012 - was self-produced and self-recorded in III's home "The Haunted Ranch." This is nice for the III fans that want their tracks to have an intimate feel to them, rather than a glossier, more manufactured sound that sometimes comes in through professional recordings.
The song's personal impact on me is that, while I've never been through experiences quite like III, like most people, I still have my harder nights and my nights where it seems all is for nothing, stress becomes too consuming, and I try to think if there's any chance I could be doing what I love for a living. When I do, this song happily joins me on those days, letting me know that there are people with similar, if not bigger, problems and that we can share a ballad together.
Give "Gutter Town" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YChqDeb6LbM
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