John Doe and the Sadies
Country Club
(Yep Roc 2192)
By now, John Doe has been knocking around country music longer than he’s been a punk. The X frontman has led the honky-tonkin’ Knitters side project for 25 years, and his rootsy solo records are more twang than oi! So it’s not that big of a surprise that Country Club, his collaboration with the Canadian alt-country group the Sadies, is a straight-up country album filled with mostly old-school covers. And they do a splendid job playing songs made famous by Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Hank Williams, with Doe’s worn-in voice sliding comfortably into the band’s spot-on Nashville swing. They’re particularly scorching on “Stop the World and Let Me Off” and “I Still Miss Someone,” where everyone kicks away at these dusty relics, stirring some sparks. But too often Country Club comes off like an exceptional cover band plowing through their fine-tuned set -- the kind of thing you’d hear in any Nashville bar on any given night. These faithful replications have heart, but you’re better off with the originals.
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