A Zag from the Path… with Kacey Musgrave’s Same Trailer Different Park

Same Trailer Different Park

Kacey Musgraves

2013

Sometimes I get into these moods when I just have to hear some Willie Nelson or Merle Haggard records, but for the most part, I’ve always had trouble connecting with country music. How could I?  As a lifelong suburban South Jersey guy, living just a stone’s throw from a bridge to Philadelphia, country artists have always spoken a language I don’t fully understand. Songs about wide-open spaces, pickup trucks, and walking the girl-next-door home from church always left me feeling like the only dude at the barn dance without a cowboy hat.

So I’m probably at least as surprised as you to find me writing about a brand new country music release, instead of one of my vintage classic rock favorites. I actually debated whether or not to write about this album for several days, because it doesn’t fit very well with the other records I’ve reviewed so far, and because I really don’t know all that much about current country music.

Nevertheless, after giving it some thought, I realized that Same Trailer Different Park had become an obsession – a record I wanted to hear at least once every day. How could I ignore it? So, with that background out of the way, let’s take a look at what makes Same Trailer Different Park such a compelling listen.

If you haven’t heard of 24-year-old Texan Kacey Musgraves yet, it’s only a matter of time.  Propelled by stellar reviews from Rolling Stone and the New York Times, and bolstered by the amazing small town lament, “Merry Go Round,” Same Trailer Different Park, immediately puts Musgraves on the country music map.  She’s already been compared to the likes of Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, so you could safely say expectations are sky high.  Fortunately, with Musgraves, we’re not watching the assent of another music industry creation with good looks, gimmicks and a decent set of pipes.  Co-producing the record and co-writing all of the songs,  Musgraves is a legitimate artist who doesn’t seem to be looking for fame.  Fame is finding her.

She’s a fine singer and interpreter of her own songs, but it’s her lyrics that really separate Musgraves from most of her contemporaries.  Collaborating with a team of talented co-writers, Musgraves is blessed with the rare ability to say the same old things in a brand new way.  Laced with clever turns of phrase, and vivid imagery, Musgrave’s observations are often so fresh and unexpected that you find yourself wanting to pause the CD and go tell someone what you just heard.

“Keep it To Yourself,” for example, should be required listening for anyone who is even toying with the idea of leaving someone they love. Addressing a boyfriend who’s starting to second guess his decision to leave her, Musgraves delivers one of the most direct and emotionless “go to hell” songs I’ve yet heard. The song opens with her daydreaming about her ex and imagining him alone in his bedroom, obsessing over her and unable to sleep. If you’ve ever been there, the words hit a little too close to home when she sings “’You turn on the light, then you turn it back off. Cause sleeping alone, yeah it ain’t what you thought. It’s the drip of the sink. It’s the click of the clock, and you’re wondering if I’m sleeping.” But instead of responding with compassion, Musgraves twists the knife and digs deeper when she sings, “When you’re drunk, and it’s late, and you’re missing me like hell. Keep it to yourself.” Tough talk, but Musgraves is skillful enough with her story to leave you wondering if she’s really over the guy or just determined not to get sucked back in.

The hit single, “Merry Go Round” is a voyeuristic gem that gathers up a family’s dirty laundry and hangs it out to dry in public. Exposing the inescapable boredom of small town life and the search for distraction, Musgrave’s walks us up to this family’s weathered white picket fence, points at the front door and sings “Mama’s hooked on Mary Kay, brother’s hooked on Mary Jane, Daddy’s hooked on Mary two doors down.” She neither glamorizes nor judges these people.  She’s been there and understands their plight when she sings, “We’re so bored until we’re buried, just like dust we settle in this town.”

Musgraves pulls no punches when describing her characters’ bitter acceptance of stale relationships, dead-end jobs and faded dreams, but she never sounds defeated.  If anything, the record ends up feeling hopeful with Musgraves encouraging her listeners to find happiness wherever they can.  It’s not surprising that the opening song is called “Silver Lining,” because almost every song has one. Even the breakup song, “I Miss You,” finds Musgraves  boasting that she’s “Got the sunshine on my shoulders, got a fistful of four-leaf clovers, yeah my cup runneth over, my sky is blue.”

With the exception of the rocking ode to good intentions, “Blowing Smoke,” and few ballads, most of the songs on Same Trailer Different Park settle into a relaxed mid-tempo groove.  With arrangements and musical performances that never draw undo attention to themselves,  Same Trailer Different Park is produced to support Musgraves’ songs and highlight her lyrics.  While the musicians provide a rich, detailed backdrop for the songs, rarely do individual instruments or performers stand out.  I’ve played the record dozens of times and can’t recall a single guitar or keyboard solo.  Musgraves’ vocals are refreshingly direct and free of the distracting yelps, yodels and drawls that pervade many country songs.  Like the musicians who accompany her, she delivers performances that are elegant in their simplicity, allowing the melodies and lyrics to shine.

For country music fans, I couldn’t recommend this record more highly.  But even those of you who never cared about country will find much to enjoy on Same Trailer Different Park.  It certainly has this suburban commuter listening to country music with a fresh set of ears and wondering if Texas and New Jersey are just the same trailer in a different park.  Or maybe a different trailer in the same park.  Well, you get the point.

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