Do you know how I came to the realization that I really enjoyed this album? When I found myself researching original versions for practically every song that John Doe covers with the Sadies. And when you come to think of it, isn't that the real reason why artists choose to perform covers? It's not parody. It's not like the dozens of awful pop-punk/nu-metal covers that one would had to endure over the past 10-15 years everytime they turned on their local modern rock station. No one suspects that George Michael influenced Fred Durst in any way or that anyone in Alien Ant Farm were huge Michael Jackson fans. And although I can't recall right now who did the Don Henley cover a few years back, I never bought that one either.

So far since acquiring Country Club, the original Hank Sr. version of "Take These Chains From My Heart" has been a staple on my personal Myspace profile playlist while a certain ex of mine can hear the Dean Martin version anytime she calls thanks to T-Mo's caller ringback service. Patsy Cline's "Stop The World" has been downloaded to the jukebox at my local watering hole after repeated requests. I even quoted a line from Tammy Wynette's "Till I Get It RIght" as a Facebook status update recently. That is what a good tribute album does - it inspires the listener to discover and re-discover.

Country Club is a collaboration between X/Knitters bassist John Doe and Canadian indie alt-country band The Sadies. Joining the list of legends mentioned above, John and the country canucks also pay tribute to Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, and Merle Haggard among others. Many of these classics were new to me, although they would probably appear to be standard to someone like a Chip Hanna or DJ Johnny Volume, who spins country outlaw country music around Tempe alternating venues with DJ Dana (Valley Fever). It's a give-in that any true X fan, especially those who enjoyed John and Exene's work as The Knitters, would enjoy Country Club. While The Knitters may sound tongue-in-cheek at some points - like a band deserving of the chicken wire they would had to play behind if they had gigged during more primal times, John Doe and The Sadies come off more sincere. The overall setlist favors the "slow dancing on an empty dancefloor past last call" numbers your granddaddy remembers. 

So pick-up this record, grab a bottle of Old Crow, go visit your ol' grandpappy, and let the tales of country music's past fly.

Click the album's image above to buy the CD from Amazon. Check out the video below, showcasing the John Doe in the studio recording the album's first track "Stop The World"