by Jeff Giddens 1/7/2010 Posted by Jeff Giddens on No Depression and Sounds Country websites Re-Posted by Permission from Jeff Giddens 1. In case you have forgotten the power of an album, in this age of 30 second audio samples, digital only singles, and increasingly short attention spans, Adam Carroll and Michael O'Connor would like to refresh your memory. Hard Times, the new collaborative effort between the two, stands as a complete song cycle about one thing: Gulf Coast losers. Carroll has made a career of writing about wretched people who live off the beaten path, while O'Connor is better known for being a sideman for Slaid Cleaves and Susan Gibson, among others. This record finds them writing together on most of the songs, revealing the intricacies of those who live on the south coast of Texas and Louisiana. 2. "New Years Eve" finds Carroll sketching the figure of a hard luck musician "turnin' water into wine" over O'Connor's wailing slide guitar, before moving into "Bernadine". In this tale, a man with slightly better luck becomes a winner, despite being a self proclaimed "run down low rent Gulf Coast loser" and begs a woman to "make [his] hard times shine like gold". After losing all his money in the second verse, the whore becomes the saint Bernadine, and he promises to "cast his nets into the Galveston Bay" in exchange for a little help. O'Connor's raspy voice outlines the often simultaneous desire for pleasure and salvation. 3. "Billy Gibbons' Beard" circles around a drunk with a "bar tab twice as long" as the title who just wishes he had another shot at high school, when he passed up on an opportunity to touch the famed guitarist's facial hair. O'Connor' follows it up with "Throw a Nickel", another character study that traces the money trail from the poor into the hands of the law and the clergy. Carroll uses the title track to follow another down and out loser whose friends seem to be the only ones feeling the effects, until he buys a round for the crowd of one at a bar that turns out to be BYOB. 4. O'Connor's "Bottle Down" assures that "all the liquor in your veins", presumably as a result of the recession, "has got you in the devil's chains," as he pleads with a loved one to abstain, while Carroll adds a smoldering harmonica, before lightening the mood with the bouncy "Tired Of Myself", asking "can I be somebody new?". The pair cover each other on the next two tracks, with Carroll tackling "Sleepy Town", which follows two fallen stars who contribute a lot of action to their unsuspecting home. O'Connor takes on Carroll's "Highway Prayer", which previously appeared on his most recent record Old Town Rock and Roll. A stirring tribute to drifters, road warriors, and "those whose seeds in life are scattered", all beautifully underscored by producer Gabe Rhodes' harmonium. After a short harmonica interlude, they finish the record with the thesis statement, "Gulf Coast Losers", penned with Gordy Quist of the Band of Heathens. The song looks out from the viewpoint of a man who knows his place in the world, "choking down hot boxed wine" but perfectly content with his social standing who enters an ill-fated battle of the bands (against some out-of-towners named "Billy Gibbons' Beard"). 5. Carroll and O'Connor have crafted a complete record about a slice of life where there is little to do but laugh. Managing to realize the effects of an economic recession and combine it with a healthy dose of absurdity, they create a song cycle that entertains from beginning to end and reads like the best Larry Brown novel he never wrote. However simple life may seem in this part of the world, it is no less complex, and these two approach it with reverence. This is more than a collection of songs -- it is a true album, full of inside jokes, references, and carrying themes from song to song. Releasing on the first day of 2010, Hard Times sets a standard for craftsmanship that is going to be tough to top.

My only complaint is that when the CD is over, I'm still wanting to hear more songs...

I love it. It's an under-the-radar classic, subtle and detailed, great for a late night on the road.

Michael is a performer that has paid his dues and is starting to collect on them. He has performed with virtually every good band that toured in the Corpus Christi area, and played with J B Braden as the Braden OConnor Band..His CD Green and Blue is a must buy for the lovers of Texas folk/blues. His fluid guitar playing is always tasteful, his lyrics evoke a wide range of emotion, and he has "that voice" that has the scratchiness that comes from years of playing blues bars. I wouldn't describe this album as blues, but Michael can pick blues as good as anyone. You listen to this CD a few times, and you'll find yourself humming the tunes. My favorites are Green and Blue, Slips through your fingers, and Prince Charming. The kind of CD you can put in and leave in the player. Re. Live performances, catch him. Say hi to him. He loves people and will visit with everyone on the breaks. He deserves to be listened to, and this CD should be in your collection.

Hey man I hope I get a game of frisbee for writin' this. It is a pleasure to have played with Michael as a drummer and as a fellow song writer. It is really nice for me, as a young buck, to have such acomplished elders to draw experience from! In all honesty thanks for such a dependable smile when I play your album. -Daniel

Add half a star more because this Texan singer-songwriter defies pigeonholing. Coming from the Texas Hill Country, Michael doesn't give a damn and floats from folk to blues, from songwriter stuff to jazz. Producer Ray Wylie Hubbard probably found this an interesting idea and brought Paul Pearcy, Glen Fukunaga, Mike Cross and Terri Hendrix along. As such, there's nothing to worry about instrumentally, but what about the songs. Lyrically Michael seems to be very much at ease, but musically I think he's better off sticking to his own songs. The ordinary bluesrock version of Willie Dixon's "Same Thing" (the only cover) is one of those, like we call it, thirteen in a dozen, but the jassy blues and gospel of "That Ain't Right" sounds extremely fine (certainly the organ and the wooly guitar) to these ears. The down-to-earth acoustic "West Memphis Blues" is country all over, with the raw harp blows, and there's some losely rocking in "The One Who Waits For You" and "Leavin' Town". On the folky side, there's "Prince Charming" and the enormously enjoyable opening track "Slips Through Your Fingers". The soft "A Hundred And Four Degrees" benefits from Eamon McLoughlin's violin playing, which is also one of the highpoints in "Green And Blue" and "Ballad Of Jack Sullivan" (some mighty fine dobro work from Jeff Plankenhorn too). To complete the colorful picture, Michael shows us what a fine guitar player he is in the jazzy, swinging instrumental Ranch Road 12. Again, a new talent you should try to discover..it'll be worth your while.