Joe Bonson & Coffee Run
Love Train
Archtech Records

Old time country music may be hard to describe, but like an ice-cold shower, it’s easy to tell when you’re in the middle of it. Joe Bonson and Coffee Run create music with a style that harkens back to the kind of country music that proliferated in the 1950’s, populated by heartfelt vocals and straightforward arrangements.

The Coffee Run core group consists of Joe Bonson, his wife Wendy, and Darren Kaufmann. Guitarist Dan Drilling, drummers Greg Cole and Mike Kennedy, bassist Matt McGee, steel and dobro player Mike Johnson, fiddler and mandolinist Joe Caverlee, fiddler Hoot Hester, and pianist Catherine Marx complete the band’s roster. The most immediately recognizable aspect of Coffee Run’s musical style is undoubtedly Joe Bonson’s voice. Not only his timbre, but also his phrasing distills the essence of that country honky tonk style pioneered by Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard. Bonson’s version of Haggard’s “Moma Tried,” which opens the album, succeeds because his vocals are so perfect for the song. His rendition of Larry Cordell’s tune “Jesus and Bartenders” displays all the right barroom inflections. 

Joe Bonson’s sound combined with Coffee Run makes music that feels as if it has been re-released from rediscovered tapes rather than freshly created. Their renditions of Buck Owens, Hank Williams, and Dallas Frazier songs retain a remarkable level of stylistic faithfulness to the originals. But Coffee Run sometimes reinvents their covers. Their rendering of Hank William’s “Hey Good Lookin’” transforms it into a western swing number, complete with an accapella vocal opening, instrumental lead lines featuring doubled dobro and fiddle, and slick three-part vocals.

The overall sound quality on Love Train is surprisingly good, especially considering that it’s a small-budget self produced project. Recording engineer Matt McGee and mastering engineer Anthony Johnson achieve a level of sonic quality that although not as lush or sumptuous as you’ll find on contemporary major label releases, still has a clarity and acoustic honesty that serves the music extremely well. Recommended.

By Don Chance/Country Music Writer
May 13, 2005

"LOVE TRAIN" BY JOE BONSON & COFFEE RUN. This album just appeared in my mail one day, and I almost set it aside unheard. That would have been a mistake.

On "Love Train," Joe Bonson is the lead singer, and Coffee Run is his wife, Wendy, and their friend, Darren Kaufman. Somehow, they have captured on this CD an era that I though we'd never hear from again.

But how do I describe the earthy country soul in Bonson's absolutely perfect smoke-tinged vocals, or the achingly evocative dirt-road harmonies from his wife and friend? I can't. Words escape me here. I can only say to get this one if genuine country music matters to you. The singing is excellent, the acoustic instrument-heavy backup music will tear your heart out, and the songs will haunt your very essence long after the music ends.

Unfortunately, nothing from "Love Train" is likely to be heard on mainstream country radio, and that's a real crime. Listen for it on Americana radio, though. It could shoot to the top there. (NEXT rating: A)

Industry Insight

LOVE TRAIN, Joe Bonson and Coffee Run (Arch Tech)

 Tradition is a great thing in our industry. Better yet is someone who has a respect for that tradition. With that said, let me introduce you to Joe Bonson and Coffee Run. Joe, wife Wendy, and Darren Kauffman have had success in the past with a Country Gospel sound. For their latest project, they have decided to take their music in more of a Country / Bluegrass-related sound, and the results are pretty outstanding. If you are a fan of traditional-based Country, you will  love this album much the same way that I do. You will enjoy Bonson’s voice which reminds me of a cross between Marty Raybon and the late Mel Street. In other words, Country to the core!

 There is a great deal of reverence toward the classics here, as the trio tips their hat to several of the legends. Merle Haggard’s sound is paid tribute to on their version of “Mama Tried,” which kicks things off. Bonson’s from the heart vocal style is underlined by wife Wendy’s and Darren’s soaring harmony on each and every track. Take the 1969 Charley Pride classic “All I Have To Offer You Is Me,” for example. There isn’t a big attempt to make it theirs with a new and modern arrangement, as they figure “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The legendary Buck Owens is saluted in “Just As Long As You Love Me,” which under the name “I Don’t Care” was a huge hit for Owens and the Buckaroos in 1964. Again, the song gets the focus, and they do the song very fine. I think that their decision to remake these songs might make younger fans on the Bluegrass circuit a little more aware of the legends….which is a good thing. Nowhere is that more evident than on their treatment of “I Wouldn’t Change You If I Could.” Originally a hit for Reno & Smiley, Ricky Skaggs introduced fans to it in the early 80s. Could a new generation be turned on to the music of Skaggs or Reno & Smiley through Bonson? You never know!

 On the other side, to simply say that Bonson and company are all about saluting the past would be incorrect. They have assembled some great newer tunes as well. On the Larry Cordle written “Jesus And Bartenders,” they get to show their chops on a song that deserves to be heard. Some can’t seem to get past the title of this one, but a listen to the lyrics will show you one of the best Nashville songs of the past decade. Kim Fox (a great artist / writer in her own right) contributes the churning “Love Train,” which the band excels with. Tapping into the Larry Cordle spring once again with the amazingly effective “All My Bridges But One” proves to be a great idea, and Wendy’s “Dreams” benefits from strong mandolin playing from Joe Caverlee. Great pickers are all over this project, whether it be Mike Johnson on steel and dobro, Hoot Hester on the fiddle, or Matt McGee’s fine bass work. The album wraps up with the Gospel-tinged “More Than Just A Man,” which will open your eyes and make you think. I really think that Joe Bonson and Coffee Run are deserving of a little bit of some attention. They sing and play amazingly well, and their passion for the music is as high as anyone I have heard in a long, long, time. Take a listen and see if you’re not as impressed as I am!