Imagine yourself on a lonely prairie far from home. You light a campfire and settle yourself in when, in the distance, a lone cowboy appears from the darkness. You welcome him into the light and warmth, and he begins to sing to you his tales of love, triumph, and daily strife.

Jarrod Dickenson’s Ready the Horses is a soul-filled album that meshes classic western, Louisiana blues, and doo-wop arrangements with the lyrical style of a true storyteller, all self-produced and recorded straight to 2″ tape!

“I wanted this record to sound bigger, be more energetic, get down and dirty in places, and stay tender and vulnerable in others,” Dickenson explains, “More than anything, I simply want people to hear it. We put a lot of love into this album. It’s honest. It’s real. There was no studio trickery. No bullshit. What you hear on the record is what went down in the room. It’s a bunch of friends crowding into the same room, making music together, live.”

The first three songs on the record are a tale of their own. Starting from the roots of Americana with “Faint of Heart,” you’ll then imagine a slow dance with your lover in a ghost town saloon to “Take It from Me.” Dickenson then brings in the horns, snares, and a strong, upbeat New Orleans vibe with “Way Past Midnight.”

“(‘Way Past Midnight’) was one of those magical moments in the studio where everything just came together,” Dickenson notes. “It’s equal parts gospel and grease. It’s about late nights in seedy dive bars. The possibilities, the thrill, the chase, and the comedic reality of how those nights tend to end up.”

The catchy and theatrical “Gold Rush” inspires visuals from a John Ford film, and is followed by the appropriately stylized western, “A Cowboy & the Moon.” The album rounds out with “I Won’t Quit” — a romantic and somber, yet hopeful message to end this American chronicle.

Cozy up and hit play on Ready The Horses below.

Track listing
Faint of Heart
Take It from Me
Your Heart Belongs to Me
Way Past Midnight
In the Meantime
California
Gold Rush
A Cowboy & the Moon
Nothing More
I Won’t Quit