Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen - Hold My Beer, Vol. 1

Randy Rogers' first decision upon becoming an independent free agent was to team with fellow Texas singer Wade Bowen to record Hold My Beer, Vol. 1, a back-to-basics album that showcases their red dirt honky tonk roots. Hold My Beer, Vol. 1 is hardcore Texas country through and through -- lean, mean, and hard, filled with shuffles, ballads, western swing, steel guitars, larger-than-life twang, and flinty humor, plus not a little of Guy Clark-styled backporch picking -- but the pair decide to write their own "Standards" instead of relying on classics. This decision gives the record its kick: it's single-minded in its purpose, but the duo know this idiom so well, they can deliver nice, subtle spins on conventions without repudiating their sources. As such, this is a flat-out blast: good songs delivered without fuss and a whole lot of passion.