Acres of Heartache

Amazon.com
The soul of 1940s country music and the spirit of the three Hanks (Williams, Thompson, Snow) shine brightly and warmly in the hands of this crack Bay Area outfit. Dilks's sharp, strident voice and fierce yodels actually sound more like Williams acolyte Wayne Hancock than Williams himself (not necessarily an insult), and the band deftly mixes elements of honky-tonk, Western swing, country boogie, and even early rockabilly. Paul Wooton's lead guitar and Billy Wilson's steel provide plenty of instrumental muscle to support Dilks's very nifty originals while Brian Godchaux's prominent fiddling and mandolin playing add a Willslike dimension that similar acts such as Big Sandy's super Fly-Rite Boys lack. Though the music is sure to be tagged with a retro label, Dilks's quick-witted, light-hearted lyrics and his band's topnotch chops make this fine debut sound quite a bit fresher and livelier than most hot modern country. --Marc Greilsamer

Tracks:

Comin' On Thru
Lose That Woman Blues
Mama I'm Comin' Home
Acres Of Heartache
Close But So Far Away
The Check's In The Mail
Stalin Kicked The Bucket
Yodel Till I Turn Blue
The Sunny Side Of The Moon
Jelly Roll Blues
One Foot In The Grave
Lonesome Side Of Town
My Dumb Heart
California
Grey Eagle

Amazon.com

The soul of 1940s country music and the spirit of the three Hanks (Williams, Thompson, Snow) shine brightly and warmly in the hands of this crack Bay Area outfit. Dilks's sharp, strident voice and fierce yodels actually sound more like Williams acolyte Wayne Hancock than Williams himself (not necessarily an insult), and the band deftly mixes elements of honky-tonk, Western swing, country boogie, and even early rockabilly. Paul Wooton's lead guitar and Billy Wilson's steel provide plenty of instrumental muscle to support Dilks's very nifty originals while Brian Godchaux's prominent fiddling and mandolin playing add a Willslike dimension that similar acts such as Big Sandy's super Fly-Rite Boys lack. Though the music is sure to be tagged with a retro label, Dilks's quick-witted, light-hearted lyrics and his band's topnotch chops make this fine debut sound quite a bit fresher and livelier than most hot modern country. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

Real.......2006-03-21

This is a great country music CD. This is real country music in the tradition of Hank, Ernest, Lefty, et al. If you don't know who these people are there isn't much chance you will like this unless you have an open mind.
If you like Big Sandy and his Fly Right Boys or Wayne Hancock, you will be glad you got this one.

REAL COUNTRY IS ALIVE!!!!!! DILKS HAS GOT THE TWANG THANG DOWN TO A SCIENCE!!!.......2006-01-13

Some of the best damn country music ever put down. Johnny Dilks and his band of world-class country pickers do Hank, Lefty, Bob and Skeets proud with this one. Put Johnny Dilks right up there with the greats: Dale Watson, Hank Williams III, Big Sandy, Br5-49, Wayne Hancock, Junior Brown, The Derailers, Mandy Barnett, Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, Moot Davis, Honky-Tonk Hangovers & Deisel Doug and the Long Haul Truckers.
God love these guys! They keep blood in the vains of REAL COUNTRY MUSIC.

Whats wrong with Johnny's voice?.......2005-08-12

Johnny has taken country back to where it never should have left- this is pure class, western swingin' country music at it's finest. If you like old Hank, or Wayne Hancock, or Bob Wills, your gonna like this. If you don't like those artists, go buy a Tim McGraw album and forget you even read this.
As for Johnnys voice, well, I guess...again, Hank Williams is an acquired taste as well. Anyway, I think he sings fine..."and I ain't afraid to turn your diaper down"

It's growing on me..........2000-04-29

I wasn't wild about this album the first time I listened to it, mostly being put off by Johnny's nasal voice. But lately it's been getting a lot more play time on my car stereo (usually back to back with Hank Williams' Greatest Hits, an excellent compliment to this album). The music is a great send-back to the country styles prevalent in the early 50's: western swing, honky-tonk sendups, and close harmony. I enjoy the faster - paced numbers more than the ballads, but there's not a track on here I haven't caught myself singing along with lately.

If you dont mind whiny-trying-really-hard-for-that-drawl.........1999-11-18

...singing, then this CD is for you! the music is great, and after skipping through a few songs, i was almost wishing that it was all instrumentals. dilks' voice is just too thin and whiney to really make this cd stand out. apart from that, the band really does a great job and the playing is top notch... sadly enough, that wasn't enough to make me *not* return the cd...

Music Album:

Music Album