Del McCoury - Moneyland (2008)

The everyday experience of America’s working poor was once a cornerstone of country music. As recently as the economic downturn of the early nineties, their voices were being heard on country radio, with Travis Tritt singing “Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man” and Sawyer Brown documenting the plight of the farmer with “Café on the Corner.”

Today, the voice of working Americans struggling to get by has all but disappeared from the landscape of mainstream country music, and is yet another thread of the genre’s history that has been relegated to the Americana landscape. Two of the year’s best albums share this theme (Kathy Mattea's 'Coal' and Del McCoury's, 'Moneyland'), telling the story of the working poor with distinctively different but equally compelling approaches.

While Mattea’s album keeps the focus on personal storytelling, Del McCoury’s Moneyland makes its case for the working poor in more explicit terms. With his band, McCoury has recorded an assortment of new songs, and complemented them with previously recorded tracks by other artists. The title cut rails against the corporate greed dominating America today, while “40 Acres and a Fool” mocks the rich man who dons the trappings of the working class life without actually doing the work.

The album includes compelling contributions from Patty Loveless (”You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive) and Chris Knight (”A Train Not Running”). It also draws heavily on the work of Merle Haggard, arguably the greatest champion for the forgotten working poor in country music history. In addition to Haggard’s original recordings of “If We Make it Through December” and “What Happened?”, he duets with Marty Stuart on “Farmer’s Blues” and “Mama’s Hungry Eyes” is covered exquisitely by Emmylou Harris.

Moneyland makes clear its political intentions. McCoury writes in the liner notes that “the only way goal of this album is to send this message to Washington politicians”:



As an added twist of the knife, the album opens and closes with Fireside Chats of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, recorded during the Great Depression. It’s a stark and depressing reminder that there once was a political party that fought for the “Forgotten America” that McCoury writes of in his liner notes. The roots of that party surfaced during the presidential primary this year, when the working poor voted in overwhelming numbers for Sen. Clinton, who made their interests the core of her message. These voters were dismissed by the elitists of her party that backed her opponent, their cause rejected as they were broadly painted as uneducated rubes, with accusations of racism spewed casually in their direction.

And so, the working poor remains in the background, made invisible by the indifference of our gatekeepers. Their story will not be told on country radio. Their cause will not be championed in the halls of Congress or on the presidential campaign trail. But their voices can still be heard by those who care to listen on the essential new records by Kathy Mattea and Del McCoury, as both albums work to make sure we remember all of those in Forgotten America.

Track List:

01 - Fireside Chat, Part 1 (Feat. Franklin D. Roosevelt)
02 - Breadline Blues 1932 (Feat. Bernard 'slim' Smith)
03 - Moneyland
04 - Farmer's Blues (Feat. Marty Stuart & Merle Haggard)
05 - What Happened¿ (Feat. Merle Haggard)
06 - Medley; I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home-i'd Rather Live By The Side Of The Road (Feat. Mac Wiseman)
07 - When I'm 64
08 - 40 Acres And A Fool
09 - A Train Not Running (Feat. Chris Knight)
10 - You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive (Feat. Patty Loveless)
11 - Mama's Hungry Eyes (Feat. Emmylou Harris)
12 - Carry Me Across The Mountain (Feat. Dan Tyminski)
13 - If We Make It Through December (Feat. Merle Haggard)
14 - The Way It Is (Feat. Bruce Hornsby With The Fairfield Four)
15 - Breadline Blues 2008 (Feat. Mac Wiseman, Tim O'brien, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings & Bernard 'slim' Smith)
16 - Fireside Chat, Part 2 (Feat. Franklin D. Roosevelt)

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