Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Gold Country - Chuck Ragan on AllMusic - 2009.

1. Chuck Ragan Gold Country
2. Dave Ragan

In the liner notes of Gold Country, Chuck Ragan is credited for the guitars, vocals, piano, harps, mando dreamin, toolbox, and railroad spikes. I guess one of the benefits of fully producing an album by yourself is that you get to try all kinds of innovative things in the studio. Listening to Ragan’s signature growl over acoustic folk/country music will come as a bit of a shock to fans who are used to hearing him provide half of the duel vocals for Hot Water Music’s unique brand of post-hardcore punk rock, but I strongly suggest they take Ragan’s lead and not be afraid to try something new. Gold Country combines Ragan’s intense world-weariness with his overwhelming appreciation of life. In the album’s opening track, “For Goodness Sake”—a manifesto of wisdom that sets the “take it from me” tone of the album—he advises listeners to “be sure to stop and count their blessings, smell the roses and fight for something” like a man who knows from experience that living any other way is simply no way to live.

On “Cut Em Down,” the track on the album I’d most like to pump my fist to in a live setting, he takes aim at the anything-but-the-truth political system that rewards a privileged few at the expense of the masses. It’s as if Ragan sees through the BS in life and knows that the best way to get people to listen to something they may not want to hear is to put amazing music behind it. Speaking of the music, Gold Country manages to cross into multiple genres—country, folk, jazz—while remaining cohesive thanks to Ragan’s distinct voice and poetic lyrics.

Chuck Ragan Gold Country

Dave Ragan

The flowing violin and staccato mandolin parts on “Done and Done” contrast beautifully with Ragan’s gravel-on-sandpaper voice, and the only thing better than the line “cutting losses ‘til my arm’s dead tired” in “The Trench” is the fiddle solo. “Don’t Say a Word” has a jazzy, bluesy feel to it, while “Old Diesel” sounds like last call at a deserted pub.

In the final song of the album, “Get Em All Home,” the artist addresses the war: “All I can do is pray that the world will see what this war costsGet em all home.” Chuck Ragan proves on Gold Country that he truly is a wise man. I highly recommend you listen to what he has to say. Toad for oracle 9.1.0.62. For more info on Chuck Ragan check out:.