Whitey Morgan & the 78's - Whitey Morgan & The 78's [Blue & Bone]

Whitey Morgan and the 78's is where the outlaw country movement was resurrected by a guy from Flint, Michigan who believed every word of it, now available on blue and bone vinyl.

Nashville in 2010 didn't want to hear about this album, which is precisely the point. Morgan built his sound on Waylon Jennings and Johnny Paycheck rather than anything playing on country radio at the time, and rather than following a trend, he took his band to Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock and recorded it live, no frills, with a pedal steel and Telecaster that spoke for themselves. It still debuted on Billboard's country chart, proof that there was an audience that wanted exactly that.

Turn Up the Bottle is the song that built his reputation, a true anthem to drinking delivered without winking. Their cover of Johnny Paycheck's Meanest Jukebox in Town seems like it was written specifically for Morgan's voice, Buick City carries the weight of its hometown's decline without ever becoming maudlin, and Bad News opens the album setting the tone, worn and unhurried.

Nine tracks recorded live in Levon Helm's barn, and none of them sound like they were made for radio. That was always the goal.