Terry Klein: “Tex” (2019) CD Review

Terry Klein is a singer and songwriter based in Austin, Texas. Last year he released his second full-length album, Tex, which features all original material. Many of the songs on this album deal with themes of family and the various familial relationships. And in these days of anxiety and fear, most of us are paying a little more attention to these important relationships, and not taking anything or anyone for granted. Joining Terry Klein on this release are Bill Small on bass, John Chipman on drums, Bart De Win on keys and accordion, and Kim Deschamps on steel guitar. Jaimee Harris and Walt Wilkins provide backing vocals (Walt Wilkins also produced the album). There are also several guests on various tracks.

I can’t help but love the album’s opening track, “Sagamore Bridge,” partly because I’m from Massachusetts, and when I was growing up we would cross that bridge every summer on the way to the Cape. Wasn’t there a Friendly’s right before you’d get to it? Is that still there? Anyway, being from Austin or not, Terry Klein certainly seems to know his shit about Cape Cod, and there are some wonderful little details in this song, such as “Provincetown saltboxes shimmer” and “the rich folks from Chatham” and “And on Labor Day weekend, locals stand on the bridges/Waving goodbye at the folks on Route 6.” There is such a strong sense of place in this song, and it is taking me back to my childhood. This song features some sweet work on fiddle by Warren Hood. And John Bush adds some percussion. The first lines of the song are “Well, they took out the circle/But the traffic’s no better/Sixty millions dollars just pissed away.” Wait, did they get rid of the rotary? I didn’t even know that. I get all my news from music.

Well, Terry Klein takes us from Massachusetts to “Oklahoma,” one of the songs in which family plays a strong part. “And my sister said that Dad could use a visit/I said I don’t know what good that would do.” There are a lot of lines that stand out. “See, I’ve been drinking, depressed, and kind of useless.” Well, if that isn’t a line to perfectly describe how many of us feel these days, I don’t know what is. There are some wonderfully depressing lyrics in this song, such as “She said I need you to try and be there for your daddy/I know it’s hard for you, just do the best you can/She was gone just a few short hours later/Dad refused to let go of her hand,” lines that had me in tears. Ron Flynt plays keyboard on this track, and on the one that follows it, “Every Other Sunday,” another song in which family plays a central role.  “And I practiced feeling nothing/It worked to keep the tears out of my eyes/Every other Sunday.” There is some really moving work on fiddle on this track. This is a song that works its way straight into your heart.

Organ features prominently at the beginning of “Too Blue To Get That Far,” setting a somewhat different tone. There is also some great work on steel guitar, and I love that deliciously sad sound, fitting my mood perfectly. “If I broke every dish in the sink/Pounded my fists on the shards/There’d be blood and cracked porcelain everywhere/And I’m too blue to get that far.” Oh man, those are some great lyrics, and this song is getting right to me. “And the doctor says I don’t need medicine/But these days, honey, I ain’t so sure.” I love that he gets quieter at the end of that line, which just makes it all the more powerful, because it makes it believable, like he’s worried, and doesn’t want to worry her. What a fantastic vocal performance. This track is one of my personal favorites. It’s followed by “Anika,” and the first line of this one made me laugh aloud, which I certainly appreciated, needing a bit of a lift at that point. The first line is “If I had a wooden leg, you’d steal it.”  Another line that stands out for me is “It’s strange I have this stubborn wish you were right here with me now.” This track features some sweet backing vocals, and some nice work on accordion. Ron Flynt plays piano on this one. Then in “Andalusia,” the lines that stand out for me are “And I write for three hours every morning/You know I sit there with my hands in my lap/Just hoping I ain’t nowhere close to used up.”

“Straw Hat” has a lively groove. This is a song that makes me smile the moment it starts, something I certainly appreciate in these days of anxiety and fury, and it features some really nice work on keys. “Dark-haired beauty sitting next to me/A blue sky far as I can see/I’m a well-heeled fellow/Yeah, I’m dressed to kill.” There is something playful about this one. That’s followed by “Daddy’s Store,” which has a softer and gentler sound, the focus being on the story the lyrics tell. Again, family plays a part. “In his eyes, I see fog, fear and age/Good days, he asks me, son, how’s that store doing/Bad days, he can’t remember my name.” Yes, some heart-wrenching lyrics, those. Then “When The Ocotillo Bloom” has a pleasant vibe. There is something pretty and uplifting about it. Robert Casillas plays accordion on this track, and his work plays a central role. There is also some good stuff on steel guitar. The album concludes with “Steady Rain,” which has a kind of cool, slow, bluesy groove, the lyrics delivered almost like spoken word. The line about “Anitta” with the extra T in her name made me laugh out loud the first time I listened to this track, and then each time he revisits her as the song continues I found myself laughing more. Corby Schaub plays electric guitar on this one. There is a false ending, after which there is some spoken word by Arianne Knegt.

CD Track List

1. Sagamore Bridge
2. Oklahoma
3. Every Other Sunday
4. Too Blue To Get That Far
5. Anika
6. Andalusia
7. Straw Hat
8. Daddy’s Store
9. When The Ocotillo Bloom
10. Steady Rain

Tex was released on January 25, 2019.