While looking around idol underground I stumbled across
a guy name Billy Don Burns. Well the name is right. So I
click on his bio page. It brought a link to cdbaby.com so
I click on it to hear his music. While that page loaded, I
went to get a hot cup of coffee from the kitchen. I came
back the page had loaded.
The song titles were impressive. The one that really
caught my attention was "Sailing down the Nile"
strange title I said to myself. So I clicked on the link
and took a big gulp of steaming hot coffee as the song
began. A few seconds later I was cleaning coffee off my
monitor and keyboard. Was the coffee that hot or was the
singer that bad? NO ! Just the opposite. Without a doubt
this man can sing and sing good. His writing isn't too
shabby either.
With lyrics like
"His silhouette stands against the wall, The
shadow of a man who lost it all. It helps conceal the
pain, He rides though the night down a lost highway
through a hole he made in his vein to a plastic place
where desperate dies on a dirty street called shame? From
"The Dark Side of The spoon"
Or "She'd go screamin cross the plains of my soul
like a train runnin wild. She'd play like Cleopatra on a
boat, with her prince of pleasure, salin' down the Nile.
From "Sailing Down the Nile"
That is just a tiny sample of his skillful and
brilliant writing.
Most of the songs are stripped down. It sounds like it
was done live in the studio without the nasty overdubs
that robs the music of it's soul. The only song that gets
tuned up at the end of "Running Drugs out of
Mexico" but the song calls for it. He pays tribute to
his heroes Patsy Cline, Haggard, Keith Whitley, Johnny
Cash and Hank Sr.
Patsy a duet with Willie Nelson who also plays guitar
as well. Which is obvious to the listener.
His music is filled with passion and is raw, real,
honest, soulful, edgy, emotional filled. His cover of the
Cash classic "Give My Love To Rose" is masterful
and passion filled. His 1997 cd knocked Cash (his hero one
of many) out the number one spot on the Americana charts.
In my many years on the web of all the indy artists
I've found this one is hands down the best. This ain't
your, what a perfect life I/we have music. If your looking
for that look elsewhere. This music is raw, and real.
There are 14 tracks on this collection. Trust me you
will not be disappointed with it. I will state my
reputation on it. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
1.Mississippi with Tanya Tucker
2.I was There
3.Haggard and Hank
4.Dark Side of the spoon
5.No Man's land
6.Sailin Down the Nile
7.Pasty
8.Keith Whitley Blue
9.Runnin Drugs out of Mexico
10.Full Blown Addict
11.Rock On
12.Tried & Troubled soldiers
13.Give My Love To Rose
14.Tried & Trouble Soldiers radio edit
