Billy Dee
Record review
Reviewed by Margaret Moser, Fri., July 29, 2005
Billy Dee
When the Vow Breaks (Country Mile)
Two things about When the Vow Breaks say it all. The first is the classic country title. The second is the CD art: a couple caught in the act of cheatin' and by the expression on Billy Dee's face, someone's in Big Trouble. Well, good. And good for Austin's Billy Dee, who plays country music the way it should be played. With a cast of all-star locals that includes Redd Volkaert, Tom Lewis, and Gary Claxton of Heybale!, plus pianist Floyd Domino, fiddler Jason Roberts, and pristine steel work from Ricky Davis, Dee's carved a niche with sharp-edged arrangements and a smooth but pure country groove ("Truly," "Too Much to Dream"). The 13 songs here are finely balanced between Dee's rock-solid compositions ("Angel Eyes," "Paper Sack") and those written with Volkaert ("Memory Hall of Fame," "Heartache Time"), among others, plus a cover of Johnny Paycheck's sterling "I'm the Only Hell (My Mama Ever Raised)," featuring Dale Watson and Ray Benson. Bassist for Paycheck as well a Gilley's bandleader, Dee's stock in trade is his smoke-imbued baritone, gorgeous, manly, and rich on the album's showstopper, "That Memory of Mine." So, here's to Billy Dee and other doggedly trad country performers: Keep fighting the good fight.
