Jason Haywood: A Thousand Miles Since Yesterday

This solo release from Jason Haywood is an attempt to connect to the classic 1960s country sound exemplified by Merle Haggard, Gene Clark, and Buck Owens. Haywood is the the founding member of The Divorcees, a band that garnered praise for their 2008 release You Ain’t Gettin’ My Country. Overall, this solo album does justice to the form he is trying to honor. There is a lot of good songwriting to be found on A Thousand Miles Since Yesterday, and country purists will be pleased with the instrumentation and narrative song structures. However, the vocals lack needed character and the cumulative effect is not quite convincing. This release is solid but fails to live up to his earlier work. A Thousand Miles Since Yesterday is a respectable tribute that mimics a tradition, but fails to breathe new life. Jason Haywood’s songs are good, but maybe he should find someone else to interpret them.