Johnny Bush - Lost Highway Saloon (CD)

All Music Guide

At age 65, a rejuvenated Johnny Bush continues to purvey styles of country music that had begun to go out of fashion before he was 25. He begins with "The Same Ole Me" (aka "The Same Old Me"), which was a number one country hit for Ray Price in 1959, and which he no doubt played as part of Price's backup band in the early '60s. Going even further back, there is a version of the 1950 hit "I'll Never Be Free," originally sung as a duet by Kay Starr and Tennessee Ernie Ford, here performed by Bush with Leona Williams. (Just to reiterate the point, there is a second version of the song included as a hidden track, complete with scratchy sound as if transferred from an old single.) Bush isn't always reviving 1950s chestnuts, but his choices among more recent material reflect his vintage sensibilities, notably on the title song, a ghost story in which a man travels back to a barroom where Hank Williams and Bob Wills are holding forth on the bandstand. In the past or the present, Bush never ge...ts too far away from a bar, and the songs are drenched in alcohol and tears, though they often proceed at a danceable pace. Despite the vocal problems of the past, Bush is in good voice here, especially for his years, and anyone with a taste for old-time honky tonk country is advised to have a listen. - William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read more Less