I don't feel I'm going out on a limb when I say that Kevin Montgomery may damned well be the best undiscovered country talent that Nashville's been missing for years. If you've heard his music before, I'm sure you'll agree. Montgomery's been touring like crazy in Europe, playing with acts including the Mavericks and singing with the likes of steel guitar legend Al Perkins. His videos for songs like "Let's All Go to California" (available on his Web site, www.kevinmontgomery.com) have become hits on CMT Europe. He's released eight albums, appeared as a guest on eight more, and his songs have been included on three compilation albums.
Nashville's country elitists have yet to embrace his music, however. After three years following Kevin's songwriting, I have yet to come up with a convincing answer to the question, why?
On "Another Long Story," his latest U.S. release, Montgomery gives us ten vignettes that show the American soundscape through its playing length. He does it with style to spare, each song layering on the one before to make you wish the album never has to end. Some songs like "Angel Tonight" aim to show the dark painful side of life that country radio tends to ignore. It is the plain melancholy of a woman who's decided life's no longer worth living. As Kevin sings, you get a clear picture of the developing character through the music and lyrics. "She'll be an angel tonight ... she's already made up her mind. She'll think of him as she takes her last breath, and her wings will surely beat him to death ..." he sings. And you feel that you're there, that you knew her all along. I've gotten so deep into this song while listening, it's almost felt like I should intervene, if I could. That, my friends, is evocative songwriting.
The entire album doesn't live on that dark note. Songs like "Let's All Go to California," "Looking Out for #1" and the title track all give you an upbeat look at the broad strokes country can reach to get an audience. The thing that makes this album work so well is that Montgomery makes it seem like a seamless progression. The album starts out strong on an upbeat note, then you cycle down to the dark images of "Angel Tonight," "Your Kind of Love" and the absolutely divine "Broken." Then the album ends on a redemptive note with the final song, "At Our Best." Montgomery sings, "I was looking at us, in a photograph I'd stuck in a book ... your head was cradled to my chest and in that moment we were at our best." Seemingly a signal that perhaps we'd all be happier if we could take what we have now and see it for what it is. I hear that every time I listen to this album, and each time I feel something different.
If you like country music, you'll love Kevin Montgomery. His subtle grasp at writing characters into his songs, coupled with his strong sense of progression in his albums, make "Another Long Story" into one great country recording that needs to be a part of your collection.
Rating: ****
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