Whitey Morgan and the 78’s steers clear of new country’s gloss, instead taking to the far-removed backroads to deliver a slice of rocking outlaw country music on HONKY TONKS AND CHEAP MOTELS. This 12-track affair sticks to the most prolific themes by some of the genre’s best while laying down an authentically composed collection of tunes complete with pedal steel pluckings and twangy melodies, driving home the down home appeal of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Conway Twitty on cuts like the subtle “Cheatin’ Again” and the poignant “Goodbye Dixie.” Hailing from the downtrodden town of Flint, MI only helps Morgan and company’s case to convincingly sing with the heavy heartache portrayed on “Love and Honor” and “Hold Her When She Cries” and rock out with the desolation attached to “Sinner.” If you secretly stow a pair of cowboy boots and a ten gallon hat in the recesses of your closet, this album will provoke you to break out the duds and crack open a bottle of whiskey and contemplate. www.smallstone.com –Mike SOS