During an era where we see pop-centered country artists such as Morgan Wallen and Jellyroll dominate the genre, we get the unprecedented return of the neotraditional country band, the Turnpike Troubadours, with the release of their album “The Price Of Admission.”
Only a year and a half after their last album, “A Cat in the Rain,” which was a far cry from their older work, which made most fans dislike the album. The Oklahoma Boys returned, announcing the new album via a billboard on the side of the highway in Stillwater, Okla., and releasing it only a week later to incredibly high praise.
The record, produced by Shooter Jennings, the son of country music legend Waylon Jennings, with all but two songs on the album written by frontman Evan Felker, which harkens back to the band’s older style.
It is reminiscent of the band’s older albums, “Diamonds & Gasoline” and “Goodbye Normal Street,” two of the most praised country albums of the past 15 years.
“The Price Of Admission” starts strong with the best song on the project, “On The Red River,” which sounds like the classic Turnpike Troubadours with incredible songwriting from Felker. The song’s narrator talks about growing up with his father and cherishing the memories of growing up. The narrator talks about his father’s death and how it hits him, but then remembers how “death doesn’t take the best part of you.” The message is that death may take you, but the memories of him remain.
The album after this is a little slow but still great, with the next few tracks continuing strong, but the album picks up with the track “The Devil Plies His Trade (Sn 6 Ep 3).” This song is very upbeat, reminding Turnpike fans of the song “Before the Devil Knows We’re Dead.” The track is about the devil trying to convince a man to cast away from God, as the world begins to turn, with California catching fire and hurricanes hitting the coasts. In the end, the devil convinces the man to strike the deal, and now that the deal is done, the devil will settle the deal in due time.
From this song onward, you get more upbeat songs like “Ruby Ann,” “Leaving Town (Woody Guthrie Festival)” and “What Was Advertised.” What makes this album and their last all the more incredible is that many fans of the band never expected to get another album after the band broke up in 2019. This was because Felker struggled with sobriety, and the band believed that the fans deserved better and decided to break up until Felker could overcome his struggles with alcohol.
As a whole, this album checks all the boxes that you want for a great country album. With Felker’s incredible songwriting and some great steel guitar and fiddle, “The Price Of Admission” has the chance to be the best country album to be released this year, and I rate this album a 9/10.