Jason D. Williams: Killer Instincts

Jason D. Williams: Killer Instincts
Jason D. Williams plays a mixture of rockabilly and classic country that is steeped in the tradition of hometown of Memphis. For two decades, he has wowed audiences with wild, raucous live performances but his recorded work has never made a big impact. On his latest album, Killer Instincts Williams records with alt-country singer/songwriter Todd Snider. Snider had Williams record the album live giving the album the same raucous feel as his live shows.
From the get-go Jason D. Williams wears his influences on his sleeve. The album’s opening track is called “Like Jerry Lee”; on the track, Williams address his critics want to make him the new Jerry Lee Lewis. The song address critics through lines like “I don’t come from Louisiana/but I’ve always played the piano/everybody always figured he (Jerry Lee Lewis) was my old man.” Other songs address the stigma that being from Tennessee may come with; on “White Trash Wife”, Williams address such stereotypes. He sings “She wants to get married/She wants to be my wife/but I don’t want children/and a white trash life.”
While the lyrics range between melancholy and humorous, the Killer Instincts‘ music is the real story of the album. Besides the upped production value, it would not have surprised me if the album had been produced in the late 1950s. The album stays so true to the sounds of the great rockabilly legends of the south that it is hard not to admire Williams’ commitment to a nearly dead genre. The album also makes it hard not to praise Todd Snider’s vision for the album; the live recording makes the album so vibrant and full of life that it is impossible not to get swept up in the pandemonium and love it.
Rating: 8.2/10
MP3: Jason D. Williams “Like Jerry Lee”
Buy: iTunes or Amazon

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