Right off the bat, James Carothers’ passion for the traditional country genre is extremely evident. Throughout the entire length his latest album, Still Country, Still King: A Tribute to George Jones, you can tell how much he absolutely loves what he does. Along with being a traditional based country artist, he also performs at Nashville’s own George Jones Museum and was even hired by Jones’ widow Nancy and has done numerous appearances at the venue.
Carothers finds the ideal middle ground of throwback country and what’s popular today, which creates a very wide listening range. Fans of all ages will fall in love with this record. While listening you truly get lost in the artistry and the storytelling. The album takes you on a musical journey back in time and it is such an easy listen. The fact that he still shows who he is as an artist even with songs that he didn’t create, really makes you respect his originality and ability to make anything his own while still representing George Jones.
The song “Back to Hank” has received immensely positive feedback, receiving four million views on Facebook and his Spotify and Apple Music artist profiles have been streamed over one million times combined. Along with the tremendous success Carothers has gained from past releases, he is set to make is Grand Ole Opry debut later this year.
His innovative rendition of the George Jones classics bring such creative elements to the table and it really is the perfect mix of traditional country and today’s country. There has been hundreds and thousands of tribute bands created in country legend’s honor, but Carothers’ record is a definite stand out. This ten-track tribute album with bringing you back to the minute you heard the original songs.
With each song being a cover of a George Jones classic, he interprets the historic style while making it his own with influences of what’s popular today. It goes without saying that putting out a tribute album to such an iconic and legendary artist there is a lot to live up to, but James Carothers definitely lived up to the expectation that George Jones left behind.
Despite the fact that this a tribute album, He truly does make each song his own and gives his own spin on it. The entire record is a refreshing take on the legend that is George Jones.
For more information about James Carothers, visit jamescarothers.com
Review by Grace Ferrell
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