Volume 5 (Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life)

The urge to raise one's stature in the world of country music from that of a lowlife joker or clown to a serious, significant figure may, in many cases, lead to the ghost of Hank Williams being revived. In fact, it happens with the regularity of low-budget movie studios bringing their box-office bonanza monsters back from the grave. Moe Bandy is likeable enough, and he comes from the generation of country singers that actually had to learn to sing, not just look studly. While he hardly looks the latter role, he was part of a duo with Joe Stampley, whose material can hardly be said to have been designed to cater to females, even female country & western music fans. In this solo outing, he attempts a combination of knockout punches by coming up with a Hank Williams tribute song, naming the album itself after the song, and then designing cover art in which Williams is seen only from the back, a technique which was devised by the stand-in for Bela Lugosi on the film Plan Nine From Outer Space. The continuing comparison with low-budget horror films is not an attempt to divert attention from Moe Bandy; like these sorts of films, this singer and his duo partner create a style of rowdy country music that really does have its charms. Coming on more seriously does not elevate Bandy to a higher level; in fact, any comparison with Williams would not be sweet as candy for Bandy. There are several titles here, such as "I Think I Got a Love on You," that Williams would have gladly died young rather than record, as they represent the direct opposite of the type of heartfelt and straightforward country music that he was all about. There is almost nothing at all that's good on the first side other than the instrumental interjections of a typically stellar Nashville crew. "The Biggest Airport in the World" brings the record to life on the second side, Bandy brilliantly interpreting the lyrics with a production that has all the bustle of a busy airport itself. One or two decent songs follow until the production once again bottoms out. Considering that there are more tributes to Hank Williams then any other figure in country music, losing track of this particular one might not be such a bad idea.