Charlie Overbey – a renowned alt-country and Americana musician – enlists the services of a number of talented friends for his new album. In good company? He really is!
Release date: 26th July 2024
label: Lone Hawk Records
Formats: CD / Vinyl / Digital
The list of artists who have lent their considerable talent to Charlie Overbey on his new album, In Good Company, is long. With friends like Marcus King, Jamie Wyatt, Nils Lofgren, Charlie Starr, Rami Jaffee, Jimmy Vivino, Duane Betts, Corey McCormick, Eddie Spaghetti, Taime Downe, Chris Masterson, Stuart Mathis, Danny B Harvey, Courtney Santana, Jon Graboff and Sarah Gayle Meech all contributing their part, a stunning album is all but guaranteed. In good company? Charlie Overbey it certainly is!
The ten songs on In Good Company are full of joy, and whatever the subject matter (and since this is a heavily country-tinged album, there’s plenty of adultery, drunkenness, and marital breakdown…) that joy shines through. In Good Company is a refreshing album.
Charlie Overbey was born in California and now lives in New Mexico. Country music is in his blood. His father owned a 1947 Gibson J-45, so Johnny Cash songs seemed to pour out of him almost naturally. Young Charlie tried to fight it off and turned to punk rock, but the pull of country was just too strong. But punk stuck with him, too, and Charlie’s mix of alternative country, Americana, and swaggering rock earned him the nickname: The Punk Rock Spy in the Honky Tonk House.
He’s been around for a long time – there’s no doubt about that. He formed his first band – cowpunk outfit Custom Made Scare – in the late 1990s and still performs with his side project Charlie and the Valentine Killers. Over the years he’s toured in support of artists as diverse as David Allen Coe, Blackberry Smoke, Motorhead and The Foo Fighters. And as if all that experience wasn’t enough to fill a résumé, he’s also a fashion designer, designing and producing hats that have graced the heads of celebrities such as Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert and Miley Cyrus. No wonder his friends list is so long…
Charlie lays out his intentions for In Good Company right from the start with Punk Rock Spy, the strident, confident and strutting bar rocker that opens the album. Packed with raucous piano, vibrant slide guitars and a driving drumbeat, it’s just the thing to get you off your butt and out to the backyard where you can pour yourself a cold beer and disturb your neighbors by strutting the afternoon away Jagger-style.
The first single, Champagne, Cocaine, Cadillacs & Cash, features Charlie’s old buddies Marcus King (guitar, B-3 organ and vocals) and Jamie Wyatt (vocals). “A story about true love mixed with debauchery gone wrong,” It’s a classic alt-country ballad and an early album highlight. Charlie’s deep, resonant voice is reminiscent of Waylon Jennings and Marcus’ organ sounds are simply delicious. Marcus also plays some nifty guitar riffs and Charlie can’t hide the triumphalism in his voice as he delivers the punch line of the song: “I would pray for you, baby, but I have to go. I moved on a long time ago.”
It’s Springsteen rather than Ol’ Waylon that springs to mind on the loud, upbeat “Stuck In This Town,” a glorious mix of raspy vocals, rich acoustic guitars, swirling organ and magical electric guitar licks, before the tempo slows down (but only slightly) for the thoughtful “Dear Captain.” Acoustic guitars take center stage, the harmonious backing vocals lend a gospel feel, and Charlie’s lyrics: “Do not come to me to be released, my ship has long since sailed, dear captain.” Don’t mince your words.
Charlie turns up the volume for Let Me Love You, a bluesy rock song with a great retro ’50s sound. Corey McCormack’s bass lines are a delight and Charlie delivers vocals that even Screaming Lord Sutch would be proud of. But it’s the Stones that spring to mind with Life Of Rock And Roll, another swaggering, take-no-prisoners rock song and the second of the album’s four singles. Duane Betts (son of Allman Brothers co-founder Dickey Betts) contributes some stunning guitars and the backing vocals – from Courtney Santana, Taime Downe and Eddie Spaghetti – add a dash of soulful sweetness to the rocking brew.
The harmonies are good and Charlie’s interesting lyrics come into their own on the nostalgic The Innocence, before Blackberry Smoke guitarist Charlie Starr joins the party for If We Ever Get Out, a wonderful, stirring ballad that is the latest single from the album.
The country rocker Miss Me would do the Byrds proud. Although it’s a song about loss, it’s typical of the album in that it leaves the listener with an overwhelming sense of joy. The harmony vocals are sublime and Jon Graboff’s pedal steel guitar is a delight.
And finally, Charlie shows us he’s up for some fun with the hilarious Two-Minute Marvin. It’s the most straightforward country song on the album and the genre fits perfectly with lyrics like: “She’s out with Two-Minute Marvin and I know she must be starving for the love I should give her tonight. That damn Two-Minute Marvin is out there dancing with my love, but he doesn’t know I’m dancing with his wife.” Magnificent!
Watch the official video for Champagne, Cocaine, Cadillacs & Cash – the first single from the album – here:
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