Kacey Jones is back on the Nashville scene (ha, like she’s ever not) with a new record! “Amen For Old Friends” (IGO) comes to us with a lot of good-ol-fashioned elbow grease, a lot of patience, and even a bit of “crowd-funding” (congrats!).

Before we get to far, I’ll give ya full disclosure. I’ve been a Kacey Jones fan since we first met a few years ago. I’ve even had the pleasure of sitting down and picking some tunes with her. So yeah, I’ve got a bias.

I’ve been trying to write this review for a couple weeks, actually. I didn’t want to write about it, because I like it so much! I even made my rock-n-roll teenagers listen to it twice while we sat in traffic for Bonnaroo and they like it.

Kacey’s gone all out with 14 songs that range from raunchy comedy to straight up classic country to tender ballads. The ballads are my favorites, but that’s usually the case, there’s something about a good ballad that touches the soul. Jones has a particularly beautiful way of delivering them, too.

This is real Nashville, y’all! This is the stuff that the “top 40” guys and gals wish they were doing. If you love the old style of country music – that “we can’t help it, it’s just the way we play-n-sang” style of country music without all the contrived nonsense, this is for you. The second track “Goin’ Down Hill” with Waylon Payne on the duet vocal, is a great example of Kacey’s natural way of going back in time, musically and features her Chet Atkins-like voice-leading guitar style which is beyond compare.

Borrowing from the title of “I’m One Mama Warned You About,” be warned. A couple spins of this disc and you’ll find yourself singing the songs as you go about you day – like I do with “I Swear I Got The Blues.”

I could go on and on with accolades and such, but hey, you’re here for the music, right? Just go ahead and grab yourself a copy, you’ll be glad you did  http://www.amenforoldfriends.com/ will get you right there.

With some of the “A list” writers and pickers and Kacey’s unmistakable style, this is sure to become one of the most talked about independent records to come out of Nashville, this year.