What We're Listening To: Rita

Country Club: John Doe and The Sadies.

The songs are classic country, written by Waylon Jennings, Tammy Wynette, Roger Miller and the like, and recorded in the classic Bakersfield Sound by John Doe, founder of the punk band X, with backing by the Sadies. The Bakersfield Sound, a reaction to the slicker Nashville Sound, was popularized in honky tonk bars in that California city, and lends itself well to both Doe’s voice and to the material. These are “feel bad” songs of the best kind, about heartbreak, infidelity, loneliness, homesickness, and unrequited love. John Doe and the Sadies breathe new life into these standards and will have you crying in your beer (or other beverage of choice) by the end of last song, if not before.