''I've Got Something to Say'' is an album released by
country musician
David Allan Coe. It was released in 1980 on
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
.
Guy Clark,
Bill Anderson,
Dickey Betts (from
The Allman Brothers Band),
Kris Kristofferson,
Larry Jon Wilson, and
George Jones are all featured on this album.
Background
Although Coe had enjoyed great success as a songwriter and recorded high-quality albums since signing with Columbia in 1974, he had not broken through to the country music mainstream in the way other artists associated with outlaw country movement had. Coe could be his own worst enemy in this respect, alienating the mainstream by hanging out with biker gangs, recording an album of if explicit songs, and falsely claiming he had been on death row for murder. Coe also became embroiled in a feud with pop star
Jimmy Buffett
James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...
, who accused Coe of plagiarising one of his songs. Coe often rubbed many of his peers the wrong way; according to Dan Beck, a
Pittsburgh songwriter who was on the scene when Coe first came to
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, “In a way, we didn't necessarily take David that seriously. I remember songwriters used to go see him play someplace, and he'd play somebody else's songs and say he wrote it! People used to laugh.”
Coe would go on to achieve success, but his last three singles of the 1970s did not chart, and he had not reached the country Top 30 since 1976 when “Longhaired Redneck" hit #17, as Nashville kept its distance from the tattooed country singer.
Recording
With the dawn of a new decade, Coe and producer
Billy Sherrill set out to reach a wider audience and bring Coe back to the charts by inviting other singers and musicians to take part in the sessions for what would become ''I’ve Got Something to Say''. This collaborative spirit is evident in the song “Hank Williams Junior Junior,” a tribute to the only son of
Hank Williams
Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...
, who overcame his father's shadow and personal demons (including a disastrous fall off a
Montana mountain in 1975) to emerge as one of country music's hottest stars. Like Coe, Hank Jr. aligned himself with the outlaw movement and embraced southern rock. The song was written by
Bonnie Bramlett and
Allman Brothers guitarist
Dickey Betts, with Betts playing on the track and
Kris Kristofferson on background vocals. Coe also takes another stab at southern rock with "I Could Never Give You Up (For Somebody Else),” an offering that is disparaged in Thom Jurek's AllMusic review as Coe “impersonating
Leon Russell
Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...
's singing voice and trying to make it a Southern rocker in the tradition of the Allmans, comes out sounding a hell of a lot more like
Wet Willie.”
Billy Sherrill may have had a hand in corralling
George Jones to sing on “This Bottle (In My Hand),” a song Coe wrote that sounds as if it was torn from the pages of Jones's mind. The legendary country singer was in the midst of having his career resurrected with the enormous success of “
He Stopped Loving Her Today,” but was also still in the throes of a years-long cocaine-fuelled booze binge that saw him missing shows and acquiring the nickname “No Show Jones.” The opening verse tells the story of a hopeless alcoholic who appears intent on destroying himself:
:''Last week he spent his whole pay cheque on whiskey''
:''And on Friday night he'll do it all again''
:''He'll drink till he falls down and then he'll order one more round''
:''And then go home with that bottle in his hand''
Sherrill's production is straight hardcore honky tonk, and Coe holds his own with Jones, who delivers a typically stellar performance. (The pair wrote "Whole Lot of Lonesome" for Coe's 1978 LP ''Family Album''.) Bill Anderson, who Coe later gave credit for being a true friend in the business,
also makes a guest appearance, singing on his own composition “Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands,” while Larry Jon Wilson and Texas tunesmith
Guy Clark join Coe on “Take It Easy Rider.” Four of the album's eleven songs are covers, including the love song “If You'll Hold the Ladder (I'll Climb to the Top)” and
Bobby Braddock’s “The Great Nashville Railroad Disaster (A True Story),” the latter having a similar feel to Coe's later hit “
The Ride.” “Back to Atlanta” recalls Coe's 1974 composition “Atlanta Song” but is more serious in tone, exploring the theme of adultery. (“I never should have stepped across love's Mason-Dixon line...”) The catchy title track is a humorous opener detailing the recent events in the narrator's life, including catching his wife with two other men and getting arrested for boarding a plane with a gun, while the closing track “Loving You Comes So Natural” is infused with a heavy gospel influence.
''I've Got Something to Say'' also contains “Take This Job and Shove It Too," a sequel to Coe's composition “
Take This Job and Shove It,” which had been an extraordinary success for fellow outlaw
Johnny Paycheck in 1977. Although credited for the song, Coe became annoyed when his authorship was played down, especially by Paycheck himself, and his impetus for writing the song may have been to underline in the public's mind that he wrote it, or to simply exploit its popularity:
The album peaked at #66 on the country music albums chart. The single “Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands" was released as a single and made it to #46.
Reception
Thom Jurek of
AllMusic gives ''I've Got Something to Say'' two stars, opining "Despite his intention of issuing an album that would be very friendly to radio programmers and label promo men, ''I've Got Something to Say'' is the most disappointing and unfocused record Coe had made since ''
Family Album Family album may refer to:
* A photo album containing family photographs
Literature
* ''Family Album'' (novel), a 1985 novel by Danielle Steel
* ''Family Album'' (play) a 1935 short play by Noël Coward
Music
* ''Family Album'' (David Allan ...
''...Only 'Take It Easy Rider,' with Clark and Larry Jon Wilson on vocals, comes off as honest. In other words, for the first time in his career, Coe didn't tell the truth - he had almost nothing to say here."
Track listing
All Songs written by
David Allan Coe except where noted.
#"I've Got Something to Say" – 2:03
#"Back to Atlanta" – 3:48
#"I Could Never Give You Up (For Someone Else)" – 2:23
#"Take It Easy Rider" (with Guy Clark & Larry Jon Wilson) – 2:40
#"The Great Nashville Railroad Disaster (A True Story)" (
Bobby Braddock, Rafe Van Hoy) – 3:05
#"Hank Williams Junior-Junior" (with Dickey Betts & Kris Kristofferson) (
Dickey Betts,
Bonnie Bramlett) – 2:44
#"Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands" (with Bill Anderson) (
Bill Anderson) – 3:42
#"If You'll Hold the Ladder (I'll Climb to the Top)" (Buzz Rabin, Sara Busby) – 2:39
#"This Bottle (In My Hand)" (with George Jones) – 2:51
#"Take This Job and Shove It Too" – 2:17
#"Lovin' You Comes So Natural" (Coe, Curtis Buck, Jimmy Lancaster)
Personnel
*
Guy Clark,
Bill Anderson,
Dickey Betts,
Kris Kristofferson, Larry Jon Wilson,
George Jones –
vocals
*
Reggie Young
Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...
, Ken Bell, Dick Betts, Boomer Castleman –
guitar
*
Pete Drake, Dale Seigfreid –
steel guitar
A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
*
Henry Strzelecki, Ron Bledsoe, Ralph Ezell -
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
*
Kenny Malone, Owen Hale –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*
Buddy Spicher
Buddy Spicher (born July 28, 1938 in DuBois, Pennsylvania; pronounced “Spiker”) is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was nominated as Instrumental ...
–
fiddle
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...
*
Steve Nathan, Chalmer Davis –
piano,
keyboards
* Jimmy English –
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
Chart performance
References
{{Authority control
David Allan Coe albums
1980 albums
Albums produced by Billy Sherrill
Columbia Records albums