Gary Stewart “I’m a Texan” HighToneWondering...

Gary Stewart “I’m a Texan” HighTone

Wondering where the grit in country music went? Look no further. Gary Stewart developed his a couple of decades back while shaking shingles off the roofs of honky-tonks, before many of today’s well-scrubbed singers were born.

That lived-in feel is unmistakable in his voice and choice of material. When he sings, it’s not the sterile, feel-good country that’s taken over the radio airwaves and dance clubs; in Stewart country, lovers still meet in the shadows, they still get hurt, and they still try to drown their sorrows in a bottle of hooch.

In the opening track, the narrator reassures a passerby that it’s safe to “Come On In” because “there’s nobody here but me, and the blues.” The album concludes with a hearty duet by Stewart and blues belter Tracy Nelson, in which they acknowledge that “In a world full of heartache, we’re just two more fools.” In between there are some moments of kick-up-your-heels fun--the matter-of-fact boasting of the title tune, a remake of “One Night” that offers, or owes, no apologies to Elvis.

But what defines Stewart’s vision of country--beyond his signature spine-tingling vocal quaver--is his willingness to travel the highway of hurt, and face the pain of living here in the real world.