Hard Country (Rural Rhythm RUR 1100) was released on 19 June 2012. It followed three earlier albums credited to Audie Blaylock and Redline, in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Blaylock produced it. The band was Blaylock on guitar and lead vocals, Russ Carson on banjo, Jesse Brock on mandolin, Patrick McAvinue on fiddle and Jason Moore on bass, recorded at Digital Underground in Greenbrier, Tennessee, with Scott Vestal as engineer and mastering. BGD credits Blaylock with lead and tenor vocals on the vocal tracks and McAvinue with a vocal part on each.
Of the ten tracks, two are Blaylock originals, “The Chair” and “A Grandmother’s Love.” Two are Harley Allen songs, “Home Is Where the Heart Is” and “A Natural Thing.” “Stormy Horizons” is by Ira Louvin and Irene Franks, “A Real Good Way to Lose” by Josh Shilling and Jon Weisberger, “14 Days” by Cris Jacobs, and “On the Road” by Mike Lilly. “Philadelphia Lawyer” is Woody Guthrie’s song from 1937, a reworking of an older ballad template, though the album credits it as traditional. The closer, “Newton’s Grove,” is a Richard Underwood instrumental.
Tracklist
- 1 A Real Good Way To Lose 2:59
- 2 The Chair 2:47
- 3 Home Is Where The Heart Is 4:34
- 4 A Natural Thing 3:10
- 5 Philadelphia Lawyer alt version 2:46
- 6 14 Days 3:56
- 7 Stormy Horizons alt version 3:12
- 8 On The Road 2:30
- 9 A Grandmother's Love 3:34
- 10 Newton's Grove 2:23
