Steve Scott Country – Those Tears I’ve Cried

Posted on Apr 30, 2014 in Album Reviews

Those Tears I’ve Cried by Steve Scott Country

Steve Scott Country is a singer, songwriter, record producer and actor, a self-taught naturally gifted musician and performer.

After some early musical experiences, Steve followed another of his passions, American History, graduating from the University of Arizona. While living in the South West he discovered his real calling: Country Music. As a child, Steve grew up listening to such Country icons as Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Patsy Klein, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams.

Steve is also a talented and experienced performer, having acted in various productions around the world from Off Broadway in New York to feature films. He has performed with such names as Harvey Keitel and David Bowie (in the Western Gunslinger’s Revenge) and Christopher Walken, Viggo Mortensen, and the legendary Martin Balsam.

According to his website, Steve Scott Country is Detroit’s premiere Americana sound. Country’s new album Those Tears I’ve Cried encompasses driving blues, pounding rock and soulful country. Steve recently stated in an interview that “Radio has inspired [musically] everything I do in my life.” Steve unabashedly writes radio-ready hits that cleverly interweave classic pop/rock arrangements and rhythm sections, with traditional Bluegrass instrumentation. A sound he and his band like to call Rustbelt Country.

Since the release, the album has had significant success, charting Top 40 on the Roots Music Report Chart for PopCountry and Roots/Americana for several weeks. The Album charted Top 30 (#11) on the Jambands.com/Relix Magazine Radio Chart. The single “I Think About You” charted #30 on new music weekly country chart.

I’ve been listening intently to Those Tears I’ve Cried for a while now – so what’s it like? The cover looks impressive – a wide hat, leather pants, great pose and a Martin guitar. Inside, it’s put together the way good albums always have been – great songs from beginning to end, tunes that are varied, yet belong together and a masterly production.

Firstly, the personnel and recording credentials.

The album includes some of the best musicians in Detroit:

Gia Warner (backing vocals) has shared the stage with the likes of Brian Adams, Steve Miller, and Martha Reeves – opening for Detroit’s own, Bob Seger.
Todd Glass (drummer/percussionist) has performed nationwide on TV and Radio and toured live with Kid Rock.
John Lang (pedal steel/dobro) has been nominated for Outstanding Country Instrumentalist – Detroit Music Awards.
David Mosher (fiddle, mandolin, banjo and vocals) has been nominated for Outstanding Folk/Acoustic Instrumentation – Detroit Music Awards.
Rob Crozier (bass) has extensive experience in studio recording, live performance and is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a BFA in music studies.

Those Tears I’ve Cried was produced by Steve Scott Country himself and was recorded at Big Sky Recording Ann Arbor Michigan and Studio A Detroit. Al Sutton (Kid Rock) was the engineer. It has a truly great sound – in a way the production values remind me of Steve Earle’s debut Guitar Town where the use of light and shade and the interplay of sound and silence draw you in.

The opening tune “I Think About You” shows off Steve’s fine country voice, with catchy hooks that stay with you. “Lorre” has a more traditional country arrangement that is well executed. “Thoughts On Fire” is slower and compelling – a fine track with acoustic guitar and fiddle lend considerable weight. The title track is another strong one with nice pedal steel. Banjo is a key feature in an interesting combination with strong guitar chords in “Hide and Seek. “Halo” is a simple, down-home traditional porch-swing number which showcases his fine, timbred vocals and “Tequilarama” an uplifting fun-in-the-sun cowboy fantasy with a Mexican rhythm and brass line – a full Mariachi sound with a kickback county vibe.

For me the highlight is “Geronimo” – keyboards and dobro with a bluesy backdrop tell an interesting story. “Don’t Say You’ll Walk Away” also has great hooks and composition. This is an interesting album indeed – it may be too country for some tastes but if you like an extra slice of quality twang in your music, it’s definitely worth checking out. Above all, I suspect we’ll be hearing a good deal more from this charismatic performer.

Steve Scott Country was one of the top winners at the 23rd Detroit Music Awards, held at the Fillmore in Detroit on April 25 2014. He won Outstanding Country Recording with the album Those Tears I’ve Cried and also won the prestigious People’s Choice Award with the single “I Think About You.” The Outstanding Country Recording winner was selected by eligible Detroit’s musicians and music industry professionals that participated in the selection and voting process. The winner of the People’s Choice Award was selected by fans that downloaded their favorite song from a selected pull of songs (20 tunes in total) pre-selected by the Award’s sponsor Opportunity Detroit.

For a video, check this out.