Cowboy Mouth Offer High-Energy Take on ‘(Thank God I’m a) Country Boy’ [Exclusive Premiere]
You might not peg rockers Cowboy Mouth as John Denver fans, but you'd be wrong. The group give their own unexpected take on Denver's classic "(Thank God I'm a) Country Boy" in this Taste of Country exclusive.
According to a press release, the high-energy rockers "extracted all of Denver’s obvious punk tendencies and brought them to the fore like the madmen they are" for the new rendition of the song, which originally reached No. 1 when Denver released a spirited live version from his 1975 album An Evening With John Denver to radio.
“A great song is a great song is a great song. And 'Country Boy' IMHO is a great song," lead vocalist Fred LeBlanc tells Taste of Country. "I remember it jumping out of my radio in the mid-'70s when I was a child. It would’ve been very hard to dislike John Denver back then, simply because he was so ubiquitous, and so damn good. One of the joys of playing an occasional cover tune is the process of finding a great song, cranking the guitars, howling at the moon, smashing some drums, and letting it all rip! That way, you can turn the song almost into your own. So many of the great old country songs from back in Hank Williams’ day up to the '70s and '80s were so well written that they were able to paint vivid pictures in very small brush strokes, as well as striking to the heart of any listener no matter who they were. A great song, like a great story, can light the fire of anyone’s imagination."
LeBlanc comes from a very different background from Denver, but he can still relate to the message of the feel-good song.
"Although I grew up in the New Orleans area, whenever I heard this song I could always imagine myself on some old back porch tearing up a fiddle (an instrument that I have NO skill with) having the time of my life!" he adds. "Anyway, that’s what a great song should do: fire up your imagination and take you on a journey you may never have even dreamed possible. Whenever we play and sing this song, I am very happy not only to take that ride, but to bring everybody along with me!”
Cowboy Mouth's take on "(Thank God I'm a) Country Boy" appears on Open Wide, an upcoming new EP that is set for release on March 27. The five new tracks range from "head-knocking rock and roll, funky riffage and a good old-time sad country song."
For more information about Cowboy Mouth, please visit their official website, or keep up with new music and news via Facebook and Twitter.
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