Jon Wolfe

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Jon Wolfe

Jon Wolfe "It All Happened In A Honky Tonk" album

- Release date : September 2010 -

It All Happened In a Honky Tonk is the second studio album by American country artist, Jon Wolfe, released on September 7, 2010. Jon co-wrote half of the songs on his new album “It All Happened in a Honky Tonk” with writers such as Tim Johnson (“I let her lie” Darryl Singletary, “He must have really hurt you bad” George Strait), James Dean Hicks (“Goodbye Time” Conway Twitty, “National Working Woman’s Holiday” Sammy Kershaw) and Jon Robbin (“I Breathe in, I Breathe out” Chris Cagle).

"It All Happened In A Honky Tonk" album tracks and lyrics

"It All Happened In A Honky Tonk" album reviews

Carving out an identity as a new artist is perhaps the hardest thing they can do. It’s even harder when your voice sounds largely similar to successful or legendary stars. It’s a double edged sword to have an instantly recognizable vocal style because people will be drawn to hear you sing but they may not know it’s actually you singing the songs they hear on the radio; they may think it’s that successful and legendary artist. This is the quandary that newcomer Jon Wolfe finds himself in. After leaving Texas to move to Nashville, the artist scored a record deal with indie label Midas Records Nashville but right before he was set to release his debut single, the label closed-up shop.

After a little more time working in Nashville, Jon Wolfe returned to Texas, built up a fan base and set about finally getting an album out. That album, the fantastic It All Happened In A Honky Tonk showcases a singer/songwriter with a penchant for writing and recording tunes that feel like a good pair of comfortable Wrangler jeans. As mentioned in the first paragraph, Jon Wolfe possesses a voice that easily recalls George Strait, perhaps even more than Easton Corbin does. It’s not just the phrasing in his singing but the way he growls and sings about honky tonks, rodeos and country and ranchin’ life. “Let A Country Boy Love You” shows off all of this stuff as Jon Wolfe sings about an oft-worn story about a girl who left the small town life for the big city lights and yet when she comes back, Wolfe proclaims that he could sweep her off her feet and treat her the way that only ‘a country boy’ can and ‘love you like you deserve.’ Being marketed to Texas and Oklahoma markets instead of a broader national set-up (at least at first), the single stands a fair shot at getting up the Texas Music Charts, something that will likely happen to a majority of the songs on It All Happened In A Honky Tonk.

“I Don’t Dance” is song that turns into an interesting story of a song about a guy who doesn’t want to risk a relationship with a beautiful woman he meets at a dance hall due to the fact that he will be bringing his own past baggage into the encounter, particularly because he’s been there before and how that dance leads to other stuff and broken hearts. It’s an interesting song and one that would certainly fit in mainstream country music radio just as well as any other tunes on the charts, particularly given strong, interesting lyrics and Wolfe’s tasteful delivery (which is backed up by fantastic production that never gets in the way of the lyric). “You Might Have Told Me” is an interesting song about a guy who ends up being a sad sack who didn’t know a relationship has come to an end (or that he conveniently forgot ‘the sad and painful truth’).

Like many ‘tear-in-your-beer’ tales, “Play Something I Can Drink To” Is a fantastically ‘retro’ tune that finds Jon Wolfe asking for stuff to be played on a jukebox that will help him wallow in the fact that he now has an ex-girlfriend. The more ‘contemporary’ sounding “If She’s Looking For Love” finds Jon Wolfe describing a female bar patron who is hoping to ‘find the one who will love her through the years’ but goes on to proclaim ‘she’s in the wrong place, if she’s lookin’ for love.” It’s another strong radio-ready song on a record full of radio ready tunes, like the title track and “The Only Time You Call.” While Jon Wolfe’s latest album is steeped in the kind of neo-classicism that has guided every George Strait record since the mid 1980s, It All Happened in a Honky Tonk is like a fine shot of single malt scotch whiskey. It goes down easy and smooth but the notes of it linger with you long after you’ve finished it.

*** by Matt Bjorke, Roughstock ***

Mini Me Records has a certain ring to it, no?

With a recent spat of talented sound-alikes (and a less-than-impressive performance at the recent 2010 CMA Awards), George Strait would be remiss not to at least register the website domain. Like Easton Corbin before him, newcomer Jon Wolfe would make an obvious addition to the roster – and not just because Strait’s nephew Trey Strait was his former manager or he performed at the King’s 2006 New Years Eve party.

Uncanny vocal similarities aside, Wolfe’s second album It All Happened in a Honky Tonk revels in its familiar take on bourbon, beauties and barrooms in a way not too dissimilar from Strait’s neotraditional neighbor Clay Walker. (Fun fact: Before his record label folded in 2007, Wolfe was set to release “She Won’t Be Lonely Long” as his debut single.)

Wolfe shares Walker’s uncanny knack for taking songs with cringe-inducing titles such as “Let a Country Boy Love You” and “His New Baby” and weaving them into delightful twists on standard country themes. Standouts “Sweet Little Song and Dance,” “Play Me Something I Can Drink To” and “Something to See” are so radio friendly it hurts, albeit it in a satisfactory, blisters-from-my-boots-after-two-stepping-all-night kind of way.

There’s hardly a throwaway in the bunch, though the title song is easily the album’s weakest. Its cheese-tastic scripted intro and outro hold the album back from feeling polished enough for Nashville standards, but the kitsch barely dims Wolfe’s likable, authentic delivery of straightforward country music.

The Oklahoma native has built up a following in his home state and Texas, and it will be interesting to see if the niche Corbin and Chris Young have carved out on mainstream country radio is wide enough for Wolfe. Perhaps it sounds so good because we’ve already heard it – and enjoyed it – all before. Either way, neotrad-philes won’t regret adding the album to their regular rotation, and should probably think about snagging that URL before Strait does.

*** by Karlie Justus, The 9513 Country Music ***