Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound

by Hank Williams, Jr.

Overview

The Jimmy Bowen/Hank Williams, Jr. team kicked up the tension a couple of notches on 1979's Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound. Since Nash Vegas didn't seem to give a damn one way or the other, the pair leaned on the rockin' side of country even harder. Utilizing Waylon and cats like James Burton, David Briggs, Larrie Londin, Buddy Spicher, Kieran Kane, Reggie Young, and the Muscle Shoals Horns, they took the outlaw boogie into the stratosphere. From the first four tracks, Hank Jr. feels like he's auditioning to be a member of Black Oak Arkansas or Molly Hatchet on the outside and the Allmans, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Marshall Tucker on the inside. "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound" is one of those moody Southern rock ballads that feels like it may explode at any time. "Tired of Being Johnny B. Good" is a redneck call to arms, "Outlaw Women" has been sung by every motorcycle club from coast to coast since 1979, and "(I Don't Have) Anymore Love Songs" is one of the finer divorce songs written during that decade. But it's a divorce song of remorse and regret, not bitterness or clever one-upmanship. It's honest, true, and painful. Williams is not one to wallow and his disappointments come right back with a slash-and-burn cover of the nugget "White Lightnin'," most closely associated with George "Thumper" Jones. And before allowing all that good-time fun to go to waste, Williams and band weigh in with one of his most notorious macho outlaw tomes, "Women I've Never Had." It's sexist as hell, and Hank wanted it that way. It's an in-your-face to political correctness and feminism. The set cooks up to here and after, and the title track feels out of place on the album, though it is exceptionally well-crafted as a song. It's easy to see why he complained later that it wasn't a single, though he is out of his mind for doing so. "OD'd in Denver" is its own dark reward and the band digs into the groove deep and greasy. Among the album's covers, the most notable and soulful is Gregg Allman's "Come and Go Blues," which is not played by the band so much as attacked, and Williams' vocal does Allman's example proud. Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound is the mother of Williams Jr.'s outlaw records and it rocks harder than anything in his catalog. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	03/14/1995
Label:	Curb
UPC:	0715187772427

Tracks

1. Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound
2. Tired of Being Johnny B. Good
3. Outlaw Women
4. (I Don't Have) Anymore Love Songs
5. White Lightnin'
6. Women I've Never Had
7. O.D.'d in Denver
8. Come and Go Blues
9. Old Nashville Cowboy
10. The Conversation

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Hank Williams, Jr.   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Rhythm)
Waylon Jennings   Guest Artist,Vocals
Larrie Londin   Drums,Percussion
James Burton   Guitar (Rhythm),Guitar (Electric)
Rock Killough   Harmonica,Guitar (Rhythm)
Muscle Shoals Horns   Horn
Buddy Spicher   Viola
Joe Osborn   Bass
Jim Horn   Horn
Reggie Young   Guitar (Electric)
Terry Mead   Horn
John Gore   Horn
Irving Kane   Horn
Kieran Kane   Viola,Mandolin

Technical Credits

Jiles Perry Richardson   Composer
Hank Williams, Jr.   Composer
Craig White   Remastering
Waylon Jennings   Composer
Rock Killough   Composer
Ron Treat   Engineer,Recording
Ritchie Albright   Composer
Jimmy Bowen   Engineer,Producer,Recording
Hank Williams   Composer
Billy Earl McClellan   Composer
Gregg Allman   Composer
Mississippi Fred McDowell   Composer
Earl McClelland   Composer
Richie Albright   Composer
Billy Earl McClelland   Composer