Jason: ‘One Foot in the Honky Tonk’

The Washington Post
June 10, 1992, Wednesday

Copyright 1992-2004 The Washington Post

Many observers felt that Jason and the Scorchers’ mid-’80s country-rock synthesis was simply a few years ahead of its time. More likely, the group would still be too quirky and too original for the conservative programmers at country and pop radio even today. The band broke up in 1989, and now lead singer Jason (Ringenberg) is back with his first solo album, “One Foot in the Honky Tonk” (Liberty). If the Scorchers tilted the country-rock balance toward a Stonesy clamor, this new album tilts it back toward a Nashville neatness.
The fuzzy electric guitar and thudding bass are still there, but now they’re kept in their prescribed place by veteran country producer Jerry Crutchfield, who also keeps Jason’s voice far out front on a predictable assortment of tunes by Nashville hired guns (Jason co-wrote only two of the 10 songs).
This indicates a profound misunderstanding of the appeal of Jason & the Scorchers. Jason’s an interesting singer, but his real talent lay in his offbeat songwriting and the signature sound — twang and fury — of his band. Crutchfield takes away the songwriting and the band’s sound and leaves a so-so voice singing so-so songs.

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