Chris Knight
Heart of Stone
Drifter's Church
By Al Kaufman
Chris Knight should be doing Chevy Truck commercials. He's that type of guy. He's one of those straight ahead Americana type of singers; a little too country for rock radio, and way too rock for country radio. He falls into the cracks where Steve Earle and James McMurtry hang out. He sings of people who are tired from the struggle, people who were given a bad hand, people who fall in and out of love, people who sometimes drown their sorrows in alcohol, and people who love their cars more than their kids. These people dream big. But these ain't no Springsteen songs; these folks don't "pull out of here to win." They stay where they are and slowly lose.
But, under Knight's caring hand, they do so with dignity. Knight is earnest and sincere. He empathizes with his characters. And he gives them a good beat behind which to tell their stories. As he did on two previous CDs, Knight chose former Georgia Satellite frontman (and current Yayhoo member) Dan Baird to produce Heart of Stone. Baird keeps it simple. He lets it twang where it should twang, and rock where it should rock. It's music that feels like it grew up in the heartland of America, just like a certain truck.
Chris Knight plays Vinyl on Saturday, April 25, 8 pm. $18. Get your tickets here.
