Flashback: Skip Ewing, The Coast of Colorado

Skip Ewing‘s MCA debut The Coast of Colorado is not an album commonly celebrated as being at the forefront of the youth movement in Nashville in the late eighties. Perhaps Ewing suffered from bad timing, being neither enrolled in the fabled Class of ’86 nor the storied Class of ’89. Nonetheless, the 24 years-old was approached by MCA head-honcho Jimmy Bowen in 1987 to co-produce his debut record.

Ewing had come to Nashville in 1984 when he was 19 years old, and he played Opryland as a impersonator of famous country music stars. He also sang demos and jingles to make ends meet. Practicing his songwriting, which he first began doing in his teens, got him signed to Acuff-Rose music. Ewing‘s released his first album on April 4, 1988.

It is hard to remember that MCA released five singles from that ten song collection. I will gave you a bit of time do the math, but that is half the album. Ewing rode all of them into the top 20 Billboard country charts.

It is just as hard to remember how strong that entire album actually was. Ewing does not receive any radio play at all with any of those hit songs even on satellite radio stations dedicated to the hits from the ’80’s and ’90’s Perhaps its greatest legacy is how many of the songs from The Coast Of Colorado were later recorded by other artists including Reba McEntire, Shelby Lynne, Lorrie Morgan, and Shania Twain .George Strait had earlier already recorded Ewing‘s “Don’t Mind If I Do”

Ewing and Bowen really did assemble an excellent collection of songs here. Ewing‘s tender and controlled vocals make for a pretty and warm listening experience. This cozy aspect to his music may have put him at odds with his harder-hitting contemporaries shaking up Nashville with their no-traditionalist assault on country music at the end of the decade. You can hear Jimmy Bowen giving way to Tony Brown. I don’t know if it is of any significance, but Ewing enjoyed more chart success than Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam, or Lyle Lovett.

The first single was “Your Memory Wins Again.” It was written by Ewing , Mike Geiger, and Woody Mullins. It reached #17 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart. The propulsive pop and frenetic drive of this single still sounds great with its instrumental flourishes, even if the production is a bit polished and sanitized. Ewing is an accomplished guitar player and stylist who is said to have learned how to play guitar before he could read.

Ewing‘s would take “I Don’t Have Far to Fall” even higher, , reaching # 8. Co-written with Don Sampson, I cannot help but think how great Keith Whitley would handle this optimistic ballad. Ewing was turned on to country music by listening to his dad play Merle Haggard and Lefty Frizzell on the family stereo.

The third single, “Burnin’ a Hole in My Heart” would be his highest charting single as recording artists, climbing as high as #3. Listening to this hit now, you can hear Bowen and Ewinganticipating what the coming decade will hold for Nashville. Critics would call this a milquetoast love song, but it’s my kind of jam.

The fourth single is easily the most compelling. “The Gospel According to Luke” is detailed account of a homeless man’s faith and belief. The character clearly preaches and humbly lives his values in the song while avoiding a heavy-handed lesson for the listener. It is easy to imagine Tom T Hall’s influence on this one. It made it to #10.

The title track would only reach #15. “The Coast of Colorado” is a song of impossibilities co-written with Max D. Barnes. Again the warmth and sincerity of Ewing‘s vocals are completely soothing and inviting. Ewing must have had this effect on other listeners. It is no surprise that a crooner like Andy Williams would later cover “Still Under the Weather” from this album on his own 1991 country album, Nashville. Only fans of Andy Williams need listen to that recording.

Two other Barnes co-writes are album highlights. “A Lighter Shade of Blue” is an intimate account of a man’s painfully slow path to recovery after a break-up. He sings, “ Here and there I’ve turned a stone but the mountain hasn’t moved/ I’ve only turned a lighter shade of blue.”

“Autumn’s Not That Cold” is a brilliant song, from the crystalline piano intro to the devastating self-deceit of the lyrics. The focused intensity of his performance still gets me. This is easily my favorite song from the album. Lorrie Morgan would cover the song on her Something in Red album in 1991.

“Dad” is a beautiful homage to his father. It is sweet, strong, and to the point. This song lingers.

Even though Ewing has since recorded eight other albums, and found the most success writing career songs for other artists, there remains something sweetly sticky and significant about his disarming debut album that time has unfairly forgotten.