Following his breakthrough album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going and its inescapable cross-format hit, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey returns with a full-on concept album, The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales, out Friday (July 31) via his American Dogwood imprint distributed through Empire.
The story, laid out through songs and short, spoken-word vignettes, tells of Cherie Lee — who, after seeing her sheriff father murdered by the Bootcut Boys, seeks to avenge his death. Along the way, she falls in love with one of the outlaws, and ultimately (spoiler alert!) chooses revenge over romance. Prompted by Shaboozey’s longtime love of Westerns, the project has been a labor of love for quite some time.
Shaboozey’s rise to stardom over the past few years allowed him to call on some famous friends when he cast the album, including Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Oscar nominees Sam Elliott (who knows a thing or two about westerns) and Teyana Taylor. They are joined by Gunna, Leon Bridges, Orville Peck and Kehlani, who all make solid contributions.
The issue with a concept album is making sure there are songs that stand alone outside of the theme that work for radio and listeners not invested in the project. Shaboozey, who co-wrote 17 of the 20 tracks, smartly has a few of those here that still play well with the songs that solely move the narrative along. Because of the Western theme, there is a uniformity — think minor keys, fiddles, harmonicas and acoustic guitars — to some of the songs here, but the engaging project moves along quickly.
It will be interesting to see where Shaboozey goes with this, as it would easily translate into a short film given the story line and the cinematic themes. He’s already released a graphic novel companion that he was touting at Comic Con.
Below is a ranking of the tracks with one caveat: Billboard ranked the short spoken-word and musical interludes at the bottom — not because they don’t work, but simply to separate them from the full songs.