Montgomery Gentry: Some People Change Transcript

UMC.org Music Review

Montgomery Gentry: Some People Change
Label: Sony/BMG
Sound/Style: commercially slanted and thematically progressive country-rock

By Steve Morley

(UMC.org)—In the early 1970s, a handful of renegade country artists led by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings sought to escape the conservative constraints of the country music market. They eventually won the creative freedom afforded to rock acts, resulting in music that was as rock-and-roll-loud as it was country proud. Its impact can be felt today in the work of mainstream performers like Montgomery Gentry, who came of age absorbing the sounds of raucous, rocked-up country.

The duo—comprised of Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry—wears its hillbilly rock pedigree like a badge, representing the self-described "redneck" population. Their latest record, Some People Change, still resonates with the small-town mindset of the folks who bought their first four albums by the truckload. However, the songs here sometimes deal with people who haven't changed at all. The crowd to which Montgomery Gentry caters is caricatured in "Redder Than That," a song set at a high school reunion: "They tried to teach us all to be pillars of society/ Hoping we'd outgrow our redneck ways/ But I look around and nothing's really changed/ We've been drinking too much wine/ We've been having too much fun/ We’ve been laughing loud all night and woke up everyone."

If that was all Some People Change had to offer, there’d be little more to discuss here. What makes the album interesting is the presence of calloused working class ideals alongside heartstring-tugging faith and family themes and songs extolling positive, even progressive values. In short, Montgomery Gentry’s latest chapter signals the arrival of the enlightened, twenty-first century redneck.

The cleverly rendered "Takes All Kinds" depicts a traffic jam where people of every economic stripe sit bumper-to-bumper, seemingly defined by their vehicle and accessories. Just when a social class conflict seems unavoidable, the two singers instead offer a message of tolerance and unity, suggesting it was God who designed this diverse fleet of travelers: "To each his own/ Yeah, it'd be a shame if we walked and we talked and we thought the same/ That’s just not what He had in mind/ Everybody's got their own road to fill, everybody's just a spoke in the wheel/ It takes all kinds."

Still, there’s room for personal identity and a bit of bullheadedness in "What Do You Think?" a song pitting a longtime country dweller against upscale homeowners moving into his territory. While aware that his unsophisticated ways may invite ridicule, he avoids using small-minded fighting words, concluding his plainspoken defense with an ironclad scriptural maxim about judgment: "I wear what I want to, overalls, work boots/ Crank my music up loud/ Like to sling a little mud in my four-wheel-drive, trek it on into town/ Shoot a little eight-ball down at the pool hall/ Drink a beer with my friends/ Now, don't judge me and I won't judge you/ ‘Cause we all get judged in the end."

The inspirational title tune is a recovery anthem that details a successful battle with the bottle and a hard-hearted man’s life-changing supernatural encounter: "He was raised to think like his dad/ Narrow mind, full of hate/ On the road to nowhere fast/ ‘Til the grace of God got in the way/ Then he saw the light and hit his knees and said a prayer." While Montgomery Gentry’s trademark is their dedication to singing stories of real life, these one-verse victories come off as a bit forced and idealistic. But even if listeners with similar struggles don’t share these characters’ fairytale recoveries, they can seize hope from the song’s bracing affirmation. As a fiery guitar phrase skids to a halt, a chorus of voices provides the song’s most rousing moment: "Some people change/ Here’s to the strong, thanks to the brave/ Don’t give up hope, some people change."

The commercially astute twosome seem to be telling listeners that no one can escape being connected to the people and the places they come from, and that while the specifics may vary, the fact that we all come from somewhere makes us all alike…sort of. Montgomery Gentry’s latest effort, while aimed squarely at its audience, poses a challenge to existing country stereotypes while still embracing the elements behind them. Some People Change may or may not prompt personal transformation, but if nothing else, it could change some preconceptions.

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