CD Review – ‘Chicken & Biscuits’ – Colt Ford

14 years ago Liv Carter 2

‘Chicken & Biscuits’ – Colt Ford (2010, Average Joes Entertainment)

Over the last few years, Colt Ford has been building up his fan base slowly but surely. With CD sales now around the 200k mark, it’s clear that he is on to something. After noticing crowds reacting to rap songs being played in honky tonks, he decided to create his very unique blend of country hip hop.

Recognizing he is not really a singer, Colt has enlisted some big names to help him out on most of the choruses. The catchy title track features James Otto, while the all-out rocker ‘Hey Y’all’ has Randy Houser belting out the chorus. Most of the time the shared vocal duties work pretty well but there is the exception of ‘Tool Timer’ where Darryl Worley sounds a little disconnected from the rest of the song. The formula works best on ‘Country Kids’ which features a good vocal performance by Rachel Farley.

With lyrics about trucks, bars and “top-heavy honeys”, this CD is playing to a very clear demographic and I am not part of that. ‘Hip Hop in a Honky Tonk’ explains this album’s raison d’être – in it, the protagonist starts by declaring playing hip hop in a honky tonk should be outlawed, only to change his mind when he realizes that type of music means the girls in the club “dance like strippers but they keep their clothes on”.

If you look beyond the fast-paced spoken vocal track, the music on this Shannon Houchins and Jayson Chance produced disc sounds remarkably “country”, especially when compared to most of the current radio top 10. The exception is the trio of ‘Nothing in Particular’, ‘Cricket on the Line’, and ‘Ride On, Ride Out’ (featuring DMC from Run/DMC), which are the most hip hop-sounding tracks.

Will this country at the absolute edge of the genre find an audience? Colt’s grassroots success proves it already has. I would be surprised if this CD does not surpass his current cumulative sales all by itself.

If you are the target audience, crank up the volume, rock out and have a good time. If you are not, you might find very little to connect with here. Colt has discovered a niche in the country music market and it will be interesting to see where that will take him.

Disclosure of material connection for this review. 
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Liv Carter

Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
Liv Carter

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