Roger Miller was a rarity: a musician who was as distinctive a singer as he was a songwriter. While it may be difficult to replicate Miller's elastic, garrulous delivery -- not to mention his ease at soliciting both laughter and tears -- his songs lend themselves to imaginative interpretations. This was true back in his heyday in the 1950s and '60s, when the country charts were full of songs he had written, but these songs endured: Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn both had hits with Miller tunes in the '90s ("Tall, Tall Trees ...
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Roger Miller was a rarity: a musician who was as distinctive a singer as he was a songwriter. While it may be difficult to replicate Miller's elastic, garrulous delivery -- not to mention his ease at soliciting both laughter and tears -- his songs lend themselves to imaginative interpretations. This was true back in his heyday in the 1950s and '60s, when the country charts were full of songs he had written, but these songs endured: Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn both had hits with Miller tunes in the '90s ("Tall, Tall Trees" and "Husbands and Wives," respectively). Miller's presence waned after his 1992 death, as is perhaps inevitable, which is why the 2018 double-album King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller is so welcome: it serves as a reminder of not only the depth of his songbook but how his work is sturdy, withstanding all manners of reinterpretations. Certainly, King of the Road is an eclectic listen, one that is indeed anchored with country and Americana acts but features a bunch of rockers, both old and new. What makes the album so much fun is that very few of the artists decide to follow the strict contours of their genre, preferring to offer their own personalized spins on Miller's songs. Some of the versions are pleasingly straightforward: Brad Paisley yucks it up through "Dang Me," Asleep at the Wheel and Huey Lewis rave it up on "Chug a Lug," Lyle Lovett gently skips through "England Swings," and Dwight Yoakam slithers through "It Only Hurts Me When I Cry," which he wrote with Miller himself. Quite a few other artists are idiosyncratic without being flashy: Kacey Musgraves finds heart within the jokey "Kansas City Star," Lily Meola turns "I'll Pick Up My Heart and Go Home" into a smoky cabaret number, Eric Church improbably (and successfully) turns "Oo De Lolly," better known as the theme to Disney's 1973 adaptation of Robin Hood , into a moody blues. There are plenty of fine tracks lying between these two extremes, all punctuated by raucous banter from Miller himself, which means King of the Road pulls off the rare thing for a tribute album: it stays true to the spirit of its subject while opening up his catalog for a whole new generation of listeners. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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