Genuine

I love the mutliple influences and sounds of The Derailers. Genuine brings some new sounds - particularly "The Wheel" a lovely song. My other two favorites are "I Love Me Some Elvis" a fun tribute to the King and "Uncool" a fun social commentary that explains why I love The Dearilers, "I'll do my own thing and be uncool." I am glad they do their own thing and play some great refreshing music. I never thought that my dad who forced me to watch "Hee Haw" and I would both love the same band so much.

Delivered as promised in good condition.

Compared to the other reviews, where the critics seem to know this band very well, this one will be short and sweet. As a long-time country music fan, it is sad to see some of the artists and music that are considered "country" today. Like rock music, country has been ill-served by the "video age"--it would seem that "looking good" ( i.e. handsome, cute, whatever )is more important than the music itself. Not to name names, but some of country music's biggest artists today are more pop than real country. So the Derailers are a breath of fresh air. With the exception of the maudlin "Elvis song", I enjoyed this set from start to finish--good songs, strong vocals, fine "twangy" musicianship--these guys deliver. Why not 5 stars ? Well--if I give the Derailers 5 stars, what do I give Merle Haggard ? In summary, if you like real country with a contemporary touch, rather than over-produced "mush", get this CD--your pleasure will be " Genuine " !

One of the better albums made while Tony was still with the band. I like the Derailers with the two replacements it took to pick up the slack from Tony's leaving. This album has some polished gems fans and New Derailers fans alike will appreciate. Worth the cost of a listen. You'll hang around for more if you're a country fan, at all.

Great Band. Great CD

I didn't care for the first songs at the beginning but some i really liked but should have researched cd a little more before buying it. This is just my personal thoughts but some may like these songs much better.

If you like the Derailers "Full Western Dress" and "Reverb Deluxe", then you will LOVE this CD. Too bad Tony Villanueva left the group, as I think that his lead vocals were the BEST:) John in Austin

Having grown from Bakersfield roots on their first two albums, the Derailers began to mix in their mid-60s pop and rock influences with 1999's "Full Western Dress." Their jump to the Sony-owned Lucky Dog label for 2001's "Here Come the Derailers" furthered this direction, pairing them with producer Kyle Lehning, and augmenting the band's core instrumental abilities with select studio hands. "Genuine," their second effort for Lucky Dog, finds Lehning once again at the controls, and further explores the band's combination of honky-tonk twang and British Invasion chime. The difficulty of creating a compelling hybrid, demonstrated by the career arcs of acts like The Mavericks and Dwight Yoakam, is complicated (in many Derailers fans' hearts, at least) by the band's early success with purer Bakersfield sounds. In contrast to the latin-tinged balladry of The Mavericks or the jazz influences Yoakam and producer Pete Anderson layered under their twang, the Derailers focus on '60s pop sounds, including surf-toned guitars, Roy Orbison styled weepers and Sunset Strip era rock. At times this combination is a natural. One of the album's most successful tracks, "Scratch My Itch," mates the band's twangy roots with reverbed guitars, a Revolver-inflected melody and an Allman Brothers' guitar hook. The result is something the Smithereens might have come up with had they started in Texas, rather than New Jersey. Some of the other pop influences tread into overproduction. For example, the chorused vocals of "Genuine" sound as if Jeff Lynne got his say in the arrangement, and the bouncing guitar riff of "Take it Back" is more mindful of "Footloose" than the Buck-and-Don harmony and chiming 12-string guitar solo that make up the bulk of the track. The album's production and arrangements are highly manicured, masking some of the band's innate kinetic energy. The album's Roy Orbison tribute slot is filled this time by "Alone With You," combining a fine vocal, superb, languorous steel playing, and strings that sound like synthesizers - the result never fully mounts the requisite heart-rending swell. Similarly, the ironic-yet-loving look at Elvis, "I Love Me Some Elvis," may work well in concert (where fans can cheer each element of the Cliff's Notes life story), but is banal on disc. The band's Bakersfield roots are still to be heard in good quantity. Jim Lauderdale's "The Way to My Heart" feeds off of Villanueva and Hofeldt's harmony singing, and a remake of the Buckaroos instrumental "The Happy Go Lucky Guitar" captures the essence of the original with a surf twist. Villanueva's "Whole Other World" casts a jaundiced city-fried eye back to the comforts of the country home, "Leave a Message, Juanita" has a terrific Tex-Mex sound, and the closing gospel, "The Wheel," combines bluegrass instruments and country vocals. Given the The Derailers' and Buck Owens' shared affinity for The Beatles and other '60s pop sounds, the band's continued evolution from heartfelt Bakersfield tribute to an original mix is, in a sense, the truest possible tribute to Owens. The change in their sound, initiated with Dave Alvin on "Full Western Dress," continues to be refined by producer Kyle Lehning. At times Lehning's work is a gentle nudge that could actually land the Derailers some commercial airplay, at other points however, his choices seem to bury the band's personality, exposing too little of The Derailers' considerable charms. There are some fine tracks here, but it's not yet the five-star album this band is so obviously capable of.

not one of the best known bands in country, but the derailers are very competent, some top stuff on here. I was lucky enough to meet these boys in nashville and found them to be genuinely friendly (not like some of the ALLEGED stars I met out there) If they are stars then they shouldn't have their heads stuck WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE.