While the music ultimately decides whether an artist becomes successful or not, the package that an artist, particularly an indie one, presents for their album is sometimes even more important when their fans search the music aisles or iTunes. If they truly love music, they’re willing to take a chance on an ‘unknown’ artist. Shane Wyatt’s debut album “The Last Cowboy” not only contains good ole country music but it also features a simple but eye catching album cover.
Produced by Mike Noble, “The Last Cowboy” features eleven self-penned tracks that are stronger than many of the committee songs that are routinely turned out in Nashville. Fans of deep baritone vocalists like Jason Michael Carroll, Aaron Tippin and Tracy Byrd will dig Oklahoma-born, Minnesota-based Shane Wyatt’s voice. The album features what you’d expect in a modern country album with some steady ballads like “Fly Away,” and “Just Married” and up-tempo fare like “Whole Lotta Love” “The Big Bad Dog” (listen) and “Waiting For Forever” but if you dig into the album and give the songs more than a cursory listen, you’ll find that “Just Married” is a Jamey Johnson-like song filled with fiddle, steel guitar and a achingly sad story about a couple who were happy but, over the course of time have fell in and out of love but are too scared to break from the only thing they’ve known, even if the love they had at the beginning is no longer there. On the surface “Princess” is nothing but another in a long-line of songs about a girl gone away but instead, the princess Shane’s singing about is the beautiful glass of whiskey that never gives him pain. It’s an interesting twist to the ole drink my life away song as he sings about a guy who ‘finally found one who won’t leave him.’
“She Could Do Better” is the kind of song that twists a man’s words to make an interesting story song about a woman who is with a man she loves despite there being many men (including the narrator) who would treat her better. “Happy Hour” too twists traditional thoughts about what happy hour means and rather than cry his beer, Wyatt sings “it’s my happy hour, I don’t waste it on you.” With a strong set of songs, fans of good, honest country music (nothing on here would be considered pop), the kind recorded by Jamey Johnson and artists in Texas like Jason Boland. If you like your country music country then you should really check out “The Last Cowboy" as it truly is an album worth paying your hard-earned dollars on.
You can support Shane Wyatt by purchasing this album at Amazon or digitally at iTunes or Amazon.
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