Countrypolitan Favorites

By blending rootsy garage/surfabilly rock, melodic soul, raunchy blues, heartfelt country and shimmering exotica with a crafty psychedelic sensibility, Southern Culture on the Skids has created an exuberant style that’s guaranteed to lighten the mood and liven up the dance floor at any social gathering. On Countrypolitan Favorites guitarist Rick Miller, bassist Mary Huff and drummer Dave Hartman have brought out 15 of their favorite cover songs and given them a lovingly rowdy treatment that is instantly recognizable as pure SCOTS but always true to the spirit of the originals. Huff’s lead vocals on Wanda Jackson’s “Funnel of Love” and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Tombstone Shadow” are particular highlights, and Hartman’s lively, spot-on drum work never allows a slack moment. But the defining voice of SCOTS is that of Miller, whose hillbilly tenor and blistering lead guitar perfectly convey such classics as Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me,” Claude King’s “Wolverton Mountain” and an awesomely banjoed-up version of The Who’s “Happy Jack.” This is top-shelf jukebox music, capable of instantly turning the humblest living room into honky-tonk heaven. Just press “play” and, just like the T-Rex song says, “Life’s a Gas.”