Radio Cowboy is the debut album from Germany’s Rob Georg. Stitched with strong, traditional-sounding tunes, a few rockin’ tracks and some smooth ballads, Radio Cowboy is a strong showing from a rancher who dreamt of becoming a Nashville star. If music is the universal language, then Georg is fluent in speaking to fans of both country and pop music.
At its core, Radio Cowboy is an album is a first person account of life as a rancher, dreaming of the ways to connect with an audience. Much of the songs are about daily living, and getting through the day, or even offering sage advice. With 15 total tracks, Radio Cowboy is quite prolific, and by the album’s end, Georg has lassoed a new fan. He’s best though when he sings ballads like “Carry The Wind” (track two) and “Ghost” (track four). These are two of the standout songs and Georg really allows the listener to escape into the words, the mood of the song.
In “Carry The Wind” Georg sings about the loss of a beloved horse. It’s a tear jerker and the idea of the rainbow bridge being there to greet the song’s subject in heaven is astonishing. “When I lost him, I lost myself in prayer,” Georg emotionally sings. The song really takes the bells and whistles out of the production and Georg is raw, vulnerable. One can almost here the ‘shush’ between the guitar licks, or the sighs between the acoustic guitar neck breaking. His voice sounds the most natural in “Carry” as it does in the moving “Ghost”.
BANDCAMP: robgeorg.bandcamp.com/album/radio-cowboy
“Ghost” has a striking guitar bridge – a perfect companion to Georg’s vocals. He sings “I’ll spend the rest of my life here where your image is so life-like, yes, I’ll spend the rest of my life haunted by your ghost.” He showcases much more range in his voice and it just gives an instant rapport to the listener.
It’s not that tracks like the title track, and “This Aint My First Rodeo” are not enjoyable – they are fun. The title track is more traditional-sounding, the steel guitar standouts. As a listener, Georg paints a vivid picture of a man going from working on a ranch to working his way to radio stations across the country. One other song that stood out is “Higher Ground”. The tempo is fun and while his vocals are not as strong as they are on the ballad tracks, the chorus is quite infectious: I’ll carry you, I’ll carry you ,to higher ground, to higher ground , I’ll carry you , till you’re safe and sound, safe and sound , I’ll carry you.
Special nod to the track “My Family’s Got Fur”. It’s a cute song about a border collie breed. It’s hard not to smile at this song! Georg finds a way to incorporate all of the life of the farmer and rancher, and of course that means man’s best friend is along for the ride.
Radio Cowboy is produced by Kristin K. Smith and was recorded in Nashville.
Clay Burton