Moe Bandy

Westside released Moe Bandy's first two albums, I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today and It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman), as a two-fer CD toward the end of 2002, adding the single "Bandy the Rodeo Clown" as a bonus track. These are the highlights from Bandy's time at GRC Records, an independent label based in Atlanta, GA, and it's no coincidence that these two albums were released on a small, non-Nashville label, because Bandy was operating outside of what Music City U.S.A. was doing in the early '70s. Bandy was holding firm to hardcore honky tonk, which is precisely what these two records are. Lean, direct, and unadorned, they form the core of Bandy's musical identity, and since they never stray from the sound of classic honky tonk, they don't sound dated; either record would still sound right coming from a jukebox in a lonely barroom. Another key to their success is that the material is excellent, relying on new songs -- one or two co-written by Bandy, but most written by some combination of A.L. Owens and Sanger Shafer, along with select moments by Dallas Frazier -- that sound like timeless country classics. This is music that doesn't care about crossover: it's pure country music. Which is why this is a preferable introduction to Moe Bandy's music than the fine Honky Tonk Amnesia collection on Razor & Tie; if you want to hear what Moe Bandy was all about, this tells you everything you need to know. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide