Sam Outlaw pulls off old country with ease
There’s definitely some blood from the other side of the tracks in the family line back in South Dakota if Outlaw is indeed, as claimed, Sam Outlaw’s late mother’s (awesome) maiden name, but until recently the 33-year-old country singer/ songwriter was just a George Jones-lovin’ Los Angeleno named Sam Morgan who made a comfy living selling advertising as opposed to, say, holdin’ up stagecoaches.
On his debut album, Angeleno, produced by slide guitar legend Ry Cooder, Outlaw possesses the outsized charisma and scholarly songwriting chops to pull off the old-school hat-act shtick in a manner that’s equal parts reverent and wryly ironic and, thus, appealing to listeners coming at it from either direction. A soupçon of Buddy Holly or Ryan Adams or mariachi-band brass here and there, not to mention rampant James Taylor/ Jackson Browne ’70s So-Cal breeziness everywhere, aid in seducing the country-averse to the ways of Porter Wagoner without them necessarily being aware. The faintly lascivious “Keep It Interesting,” for its part, should lock in the ladies’ market for good.
A tip of the hat to Toronto’s Six Shooter Records, raiding the U.S. for the first time, for recognizing star power when they hear it.
Sum up what you do in a few simple sentences. “I’m a country singer living in Los Angeles. I love pedal-steel guitar, rye whiskey, Spanish architecture, family films from the ’90s and, most of all, I love my cat. I create music that seeks to capture the spirit of my favourite classic country singers: George Jones, Wynn Stewart, Don Williams, Gene Watson, Keith Whitley, etc. I also really like Bryan Adams — and I’m not just saying that because y’all are Canadian.”
What’s a song I need to hear right now? “Jesus Take the Wheel (And Drive Me to a Bar).” A honky-tonkin’ gem wherein a nice Christian chap goin’ on a bender discovers in His Lord and Saviour an ace designated driver.
“You even let me listen / To all my favourite country songs,” enthuses Outlaw. “And you add real nice harmonies / Each time I sing along.”
Where can I see him play? The Dakota Tavern, Tuesday. Details at ticketf.ly/1M85Ip7