Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Satan Is Real, Straight to Hell
2. Thrown Out of the Bar
3. Things You Do To Me
4. Country Heroes
5. D Ray White
6. Low Down
7. Pills I Took
8. Smoke & Wine
9. My Drinkin Problem
10. Crazed Country Rebel
11. Dick in Dixie
12. Not Everybody Likes Us
13. Angel of Sin

Disc 2:

1. Louisiana Stripes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4879 in Music
• Released on: 2006-02-28
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .28 pounds

Amazon.com
A new album from Hank Williams III is always a revelation: first, because it came out at all (his relationship with his label is as stormy as the marriage of his legendary grandparents); and second, because of its content and execution. So it's something of a miracle to see a 2-CD set of some of III's most hardcore Hellbilly (as opposed to the relentless screaming of his Assjack), especially as a number of the songs had been scheduled to appear on his unreleased 2003 album Thrown Out of the Bar. Hank III calls the new offering--recorded mostly on a $500 machine, for a DIY sound--a "thrill ride into a life of sin." This may explain the fact that Straight to Hell, which opens with some old-fashioned gospel and abruptly ends with the sound of a belly-laughing Satan, comes with a parental advisory sticker. He earns it, all right, especially on "Dick in Dixie," which is not a song about a man named Richard. As usual, III spends a lot of time pointing out what's wrong with Nashville; worshiping pills, weed, and wine; and self-mythologizing. But when he gets down to business, putting his graddaddy's bray on such songs of misery as "Angel of Sin," well, all is forgiven. III also gets big points for the second disc's 42-minute hidden track, a self-indulgent but brilliant pastiche of sound comprised of a Hank Sr. song ("I Could Never Be Ashamed of You"), snippets of a Wayne "The Train" Hancock tune, a fragment of a song III wrote with ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, a little Cheech and Chong, as well as assorted sounds of a speeding train, runaway horses, pig snorts, a gunshot, and some hellfire-and-brimstone preaching. A drug-laced dream? The soundtrack to that journey to Hades of the album title? Damned interesting, either way. --Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews

Real Country is Back!
I'm an old fart. I bought 78's of Hank Sr. I had vinyl, then CD's, of Hank Jr. I liked 'em both, for their likeness and their differences. In Hank III, who I never knew existed until I saw this cd here on Amazon, is living proof that the hank legacy is real. This is one frikkin great cd. I love it!

Criticism of sound quality? Please...
Whoever criticized the sound quality apparently has no idea of the back-history regarding this album.

Hank III spent 4 years fighting with his label to put out a record on his own terms, without the slick Nashville production of Risin' Outlaw and most of the boybands-with-a-fiddle on the radio. In addition to wanting to select and write his own material without compromise, he also wanted to record a raw album, produce it himself with minimal overdubs and slick production. This was the way records used to be made in the 50s when most classic country was still recorded in primitive studios and released on independent labels. Considering the concept behind this album, the production quality sounds surpisingly modern. Hank III did an excellent job caputuring the nuances of acoustic instruments, and mixing them in a way that is very crisp and clear (unlike most vintage recordings from the 50s). He made the record himself at his house in a relaxed, creative environment - but unlike artists in the 50s, he used digital multitrack recording to more accurately capture the instruments. The vocals are more raw in places, but this is a throwback to hillbilly mountain music and western swing. It's not supposed to be pretty and slick. That's the whole point. Next time, be careful not to miss the forest for the trees.

And all that being said, there are quite a few songs that would stand up to anything on modern country radio as a hit song. Listen to "Low Down", "My Drinking Problem" or "Things You Do To Me". The vocal production on all of those songs, and the multi-part backing vocals on "Low Down" in particular, sound professionally-produced. The vocals match the top-notch sound quality of the instruments, the accessible quality of songwriting, and the tight performances. With these songs, everything comes together in a package that could compete with anything else on mainstream radio (without compromising an inch of Hank III's non-pop integrity). You could never tell that these songs were home recordings. And they still fit in with the rough, raw, non-radio friendly outlaw songs on the CD.

MIND-BLOWING COUNTRY MUSIC AS IT SHOULD BE!!
This album is a masterpiece in ANY music genre! It happens to be country music, which I normally cannot stand, but this is BRILLIANT! The lyrics really stick it up the wahzoo's of purveyors of boring pop/rock-country. Loads of people have already said it, but Grandpappy Hank Sr. would be SO proud!
This sprawling 2-disc set (talk about spraaaawl - the 2nd disc is ONE very long song! - Kinda like The Beatles' Revolution Nine on the White Album, a trippy sound collage of some Hillbilly Hell in Hank's head!) kinda reminds me of the album, London Calling by The Clash, in that each song is so varied from the previous. How appropriate that the album is titled Straight to Hell, since The Clash have a song by that name. They were punk/reggae/rockers, not country, but I get the same adrenaline rush when I put this CD on as I did the first 40 times I listened to the first Clash CD! Even on the slower twanga-a-doodle songs (of which there of very few)...My favorite tracks are ALL OF 'EM!! But especially, Pills I Took - it's hilarious! That's another thing about this album - it's a hoot! It'll have you smiling, I guarantee it, maybe even hootin' and hollerin'. I'm off in the direction of Hank III's other CDs...if they are half as good as this, I'll still be very pleased!