The Cornell Hurd Band
Drop in on My Dream (Behemoth)What’s the secret to 35 years of longevity for the Cornell Hurd Band? No one does what it does. Self-proclaimed “Country Music’s Worst Nightmare,” the 13-member juggernaut blasts through swing, rock & roll, and teary-eyed ballads, all fortified with Hurd’s seriously twisted lyrics. Despite sustaining major setbacks recently when two of its prime movers, “Mayor of South Austin” rubboard player Danny Young and guitarist Paul Skelton, passed on, CHB soldiers on with ace recruits like keyboard-tickler T Jarrod Bonta. Populated with hell-raisin’ gals (“Whiskey Drinkin’ Women,” “The Bad Girl I Keep in My Heart”), a Springsteen-like anthem (“The Long Goodbye”), and the CHB boss man crooning his best George Strait (“Out Past Abilene”), this album isn’t for country music purists. For the band it’s standard fare perhaps, interchangeable with much of what’s been recorded these past 15 years, but still, these Dream merchants remain singular.
This article appears in July 6 • 2012.