A Very Well Traveled Man

Henson Cargill became mainstream country music's token protest singer after his socially conscious hit "Skip a Rope" crossed over to the pop charts in 1967-1968. His followup hit, "Row Row Row," again alluded to children and social issues but made no point other than that different people have different experiences. "None of My Business," Cargill's final Top Ten hit, was practically a carbon copy of "Skip a Rope" and assailed apathy without being very controversial. Cargill's lower-charting hits and album tracks could be pricklier and more ambiguous, sometimes using vague philosophical musings as an excuse to wallow in depictions of domestic abuse, murder, and other unpleasant business. The vague nature of Cargill's "protest" songs was probably necessary from a commercial standpoint because the mainstream country audience did not want to hear progressive critiques of the establishment and the breakdown of social responsibility; consequently, many of Cargill's songs, composed by well-known Nashville songwriters, sounded edgy in the context of country radio but didn't say much of anything. "Skip a Rope," Cargill's one bona fide classic, is the exception for taking on racism in a genre that often promoted it (witness the dialect humor of Jim Nesbitt's minor hit "Husbands-in-Law," also released in 1967). The Gregorian vocal chorus on "What's My Name?" recalls Ed Ames' "Who Will Answer?" but merely lists the names of famous people, like Neil Diamond's execrable "Done Too Soon." "Four Shades of Love" portrays one shade in which a husband coldly shoots his wife to death, and "This Generation Shall Not Pass" uses Matthew 24:34 as a springboard from which to launch another provocative-sounding but empty anthem. Tom T. Hall was able to address social issues by couching them in compelling narratives that often used humor to sweeten the bitter pill, but Cargill's songs pull too many punches trying to sound like they're taking a stand without actually taking a stand. The result is something dubious and rare: pretentious country music. Cargill is a solid vocalist who recorded with top-flight players and veteran Nashville producer Don Law, and was probably grateful to be allowed to sing other kinds of songs on occasion. "Hemphill Kentucky Consolidated Coalmine" and "The Most Uncomplicated Goodbye I've Ever Heard" are winners, as are his covers of "Tall Oak Tree" and "Black Jack County Chain." It's incredible that a 27-track anthology of Cargill's Monument recordings could miss one of his seven hits for the label, and yet the Top 40 charter "Then the Baby Came" is not included. Cargill's career is an interesting anomaly in the annals of country music history, and A Very Well Traveled Man is a more than generous anthology of recordings from 1967-1970 that may appeal to serious collectors. ~ Greg Adams