There are places in the United States that have been determinants in the development of this or that genre, which is almost immediately associated with a type of music. There are cities that have become a meeting place for artists and fans, where the places to play or listen to music, are many and all legendary. Here in Oklahoma was born a genre a few years ago, as I often told you with my articles, with the fusion of country, rock and blues-folk : the Red Dirt. And in this state there is a city that more than others has contributed to the development and growth of this kind, everyone has passed by here : Stillwater. Stillwater is a university city and therefore by definition a place where young people live and want to have fun, here the red dirt exploded in all its magnificence. Cody Canada and its Cross Canadian Ragweed, Turnpike Troubadours, Jason Boland, Stoney Larue, Great Divide, Red Dirt Rangers and today the tradition continues with bands like the Red Southall Band. Music flows like a river in the streets of this city and it is here that at 19 years old Josh Meloy decided to become a musician, after attending a concert of Texan William Clark Green, after seeing what the music provoked in people. The songs sung in unison, joy and passion, had to become a musician. The influences in the music of this artist are many : Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams Jr, but also the southern rock of Whiskey Myers and the brilliant creative vein of Evan Felker (leader of the newfound Turnpike Troubadours). Josh Meloy has a hoarse voice that seems consumed by years of smoke and whiskey, but it is not due to his youth. She appears as mature and intense as the great ones and his ability to write dry and quality songs is equally remarkable. This disc dedicated to his land, Oklahoma, is self-produced, dry and direct but definitely not trivial. It’s not new, it’s already 2 years old , but this guy absolutely must be discovered. It’s his second album, the first Washington Street is from 2018. Lately new singles have been released and in the States they have seen him on tour with the legendary Ward Davis, not just any artist, on the contrary! The poignant and incisive ballad that opens the record, Noise, which begins with the rustle of a stylus on vinyl, is pure independent country, of those people who work hard and live the life of the American province, want to listen. No winks at the charts, no arrangements to please to “Nashville that counts”. The acoustic guitar that accompanies it brings with it the dust of the desert, Lightning is like this : a dragged and exciting country ride with a western flavor, but it is also a song that we can imagine with a rock band behind. This guy can write pieces that would hit acoustic as well as electric. The best track of this batch of 8 tracks is definitely Met the Devil in Oklahoma, intense emotional rough, a song that gives us a first level vocal performance, a piece so beautiful that we can imagine the soundtrack series as Yellowstone, now a sort of “popular radio” of independent music. Josh Meloy deserves to be here without a doubt. The following Oklahoma Blues is also dedicated to its land, a hard land, a land of life that is never easy but with real feelings. A track with pedal-steel in the background, a taste of that country real and real that here in our country comes little unfortunately but with shades of blues folk storyteller. So began the great ones that now amaze the States, self-produced albums against all commercial rules, played acoustic, without special effects but true and heard. For this reason people reward them and trust Josh Meloy deserves success and I hope that these tours with great artists and records like Oklahoma, are just the beginning of a bright career in the sun of the Oklahoma desert but also that of Texas, where this music from and for the people is loved as the air.
Good listening,
Trex Willer by http://www.ticinonotizie.it
(you can find original italian article at this link : https://www.ticinonotizie.it/josh-meloy-oklahoma-2020-by-trex-roads/ )
