Casey Donahew at 43 is a legend of the live circuits of his Texas, one that has been treading stages for almost 20 years and does it upsetting with his charge and his Texas country between rock and honky tonk, the legendary clubs of the Lone Star State. It’s an indie, one who plays and sings what he wants and wants his fans to, has given off records that are authentic pearls of Texas country (If you want to get a taste of both his skill as a live performer, get the live Live-Raw-Real In The Ville, 2008, an adrenaline rush!). In this terrible year, which struck everyone and left tragic aftermath on independent music, the good Casey thought of playing live streaming for his fans called Corona Happy Hour, followed with thousands of views and in the meantime decided to release this wonderful album of 9 acoustic pieces (two of which from previous records). A short but perfect job for those who love real country music, cowboy hat, boots, whiskey, a bonfire and an acoustic guitar (enriched by the invigorating sound of the violin) : that’s all, a simple recipe that however likes and excites. Casey’s voice and guitar accompany us in a nice ride under the stars that begins with Starts in a Bar, but it’s the violin that gives that extra country touch that sweeps away some desert dust. The second one is Southern Girl, one of the pieces already heard by Donahew, a nice piece that I like even more acoustic. Melancholy and veiled of dark sadness is the next I’m Not This Guy That You Know, perhaps one of the most beautiful of the album especially for the story of a guy who knowing his thousand flaws away the girl he loves to save her from the pain that would try to be with him. Very country, very nice. The songs have that authentic western flavor, that flavor that makes us daydream about the land that shaped this guy, The Cowboy That Never Rode Away is a perfect example of an almost cinematic song , especially for the Italian ears accustomed to these sounds imagining them in the movies more than in the live circuits that are the bread of Casey Donahew, Texas pride. These live streaming inspired him a lot and they came out of the really beautiful pieces that the absent production, the dry arrangement and his intense voice and marked by whiskey, made to perfection. Less rock-oriented than his studio work perhaps but for this personally much more credible. There is also room for a very outlaw country story, Outlaw Friends, a story of an outlaw condemned to death that does not give up, a country that does not disfigure acoustic but that we imagine will smash the speakers, played to the whole band on the boards of the stages that love Casey so much. A piece that could become a new classic among the many beautiful songs he wrote. The work closes with a song of drinks, Beer Tastes Good, fun and lively that has in the interweaving acoustic guitar-violin his strength, even this will unleash the stages of live clubs in Texas and beyond. I close by telling you the curious story behind the title of this wonderful acoustic record born almost as a joke : here one night Casey called another musician, co-author of a song, to sing the piece together, But the guy was so drunk, he couldn’t remember the words and say, at the end the phrase “I lost it brother, go!”, was understood I lost my brother goat!. From a goliardic teasing in the band, it has gone to a t-shirt, thousands of shirts sold and a record that will sell, deservedly, many copies. A fun album, immediate and damned well played, 9 pieces with a pure and strong Texan flavor, maybe they will not have the strength of his live but they have the strength of his talent as an independent storyteller, credible both when he treads the boards of live clubs, both when he’s streaming stories on the six-string, sipping whiskey.
Good listening,
Trex Willer by http://www.ticinonotizie.it
(you can find original italian article at this link: https://www.ticinonotizie.it/ascoltati-da-noi-per-voi-by-trex-roads-casey-donahew-lost-my-brothers-goat-2020/ )
