Let’s not be cliché, but let’s do remember that along with trains, prison and mama etc. drinking is an essential story-line in the Country Music Songbook, and that the really fine drinking songs take a while to emerge.
Here’s a brand new one, that’s roadhouse and juke-joint worthy: “Drinkin’ Problem” by a band known as “Midland.”
People say I have a drinking problem
That ain’t no reason to stop
People say I have a drinking problem
But, I got no problem drinking at all
“Midland” is a Texas trio with so much attitude that in the video one of band members is actually smoking a cigarette– Keith Richards style i.e. dangling out of his lips while he plays.
“Midlands” influences include Gary Stewart, whose 1974 top ten classic, “Drinkin’ Thing,” confirms that a REALLY GOOD drinking song is timeless and that there’s always a way to make an old theme sound new again.
Bottom line: if you like traditional Country, this one’s for you, otherwise, just skip it.
Good to know: The band is from Texas, but their name isn’t an homage to the city of Midland, rather, it was inspired by Dwight Yoakam’s “Fair to Midland” (2003), which was inspired by a Dallas band named “Fair to Midland.”
“Drinkin Problem” is new, just entering the Country charts.