Justin Trevino-Scene Of The Crying

Justin Trevino

"Scene Of The Crying"

Produced by Justin Trevino

Lone Star Records

by Miss Lana

Justin Trevino may not be a household name in most households, even those that proclaim to be Texas music lovers. I know this, because I really didn’t know Justin Trevino myself before I received his CD, “Scene Of The Crying” in the mail. But Justin isn’t a newbie in the country music scene…not by a long shot. This is his third CD release, but his first on Lone Star Records.

Justin Trevino was born in Brownsville, Texas, but was raised in the Austin area most of his life. At age seven, he got his first guitar and started taking lessons. He found it easier to learn if he sang along as he played, and he was encouraged by his father, who was instrumental in getting Justin his first professional gig at age thirteen. By his freshman year in high school, he had formed his own band. During his years in the industry, he has been mentored by country music legends such as Johnny Bush, Don Walser and Cornell Hurd. Blind since birth, Justin never let this stand in his way of getting a public education and furthering his country music skills in local honky tonks, in which he was frequently escorted by his parents. He has played with many legendary artists such as Hank Thompson, Kitty Wells, Wanda Jackson and many others.

Now Trevino has created a style and a magic all his own with his extraordinary tenor vocals and a band of excellent musicians. I was a little skeptical when I first started reading the liner notes and noticed that Justin had only co-written one song on this album. But after listening to it for the first time (and the second, and the third…) and reading the credits, I realized that Justin had chosen very strong covers written by some great song writers and turned them into his own in some special way.

“Two Empty Glasses” is a classic tear jerking country tune with great fiddle riffs. This song was written by L.M. Bryant, Kenneth Campbell and Jack Greene. Justin sings it like he wrote it and with the passion that a song like this needs.

“I see her face in the dim candle light
One lonely chair across the table tonight
No more wine in the bottle
And nobody cares

Just two empty glasses and one empty chair”.

It just doesn’t get any more honky tonk than this.

The title cut, “Scene Of The Crying” is the one song on the album that Justin helped write, along with Dicky Overbey, who also provides the excellent pedal steel guitar on this album. It’s one of my favorites, too. It’s a slow waltz that is backed with a wailing steel guitar and fiddle. Justin’s extraordinary tenor voice captures the essence of this lyrical tune.

“You can’t be punished for the ugly thing you’ve done,
For the crime of causing death by mental means is a perfect one.
Why must I be a victim of the dreaded fate
Of slowly dying for the woman I should hate
And even as my body weakens from all this agony, I find
That I wish you’d return to the scene of the crying.

Yep, this is a belt buckle-polishin', boot scootin’, chick chokin' dance song if I ever heard one.

“Three’s A Crowd”, written by Darrell Edwards, George Jones and Herby Treece, is a three stepping shuffle that oozes pedal steel with a vengeance. The lyrics are as strong as the music, and this band is tight!

“If you love him, you don’t need my company
Either close the door to him or set me free,
You’re the reason I belong with my head bowed
Don’t you know that two’s a marriage, but three’s a crowd.

One is lonely, two’s a marriage, three’s a crowd.”

Sounds just like something George Jones would sing. Justin does a fine job with it.

One of my favorites on this CD is “What Have We Done”, a tune written by Wendall Goodman and Wanda Jackson. In fact, Wanda joins Justin on this song and, man, does it work! Their voices mesh wonderfully, and the music sets the background perfectly.

“You’ll Never Get A Better Chance”, penned by Justin Tubb, is another three stepping diddy that Justin, once again, transforms into his own. The music on this tune is so well done, I found myself wandering off "onto the dance floor in my mind".

“Sound That A Breaking Heart Makes”, written by Ernie Reed and Johnny Bush, is another tear in your beer tune that could keep you on the dance floor all night long. I can definitely hear Johnny’s influence in Justin’s vocals on this song, just as I could almost hear George Jones in Justin’s voice on “Three’s A Crowd”. Ernie Reed is guest fiddler on this tune, and you can tell he helped write it with his right-on fiddle accompaniment.

“A heart break so loud
yet makes not a sound
You can’t hear the love that it takes
You can’t hear love die or dreams passing by
These are sounds that a breaking heart makes.”

Oh, the greatness that is country music!

“Rest Of My Years”, an unrecorded Johnny Paycheck song, is a solid country dance song. It may not be quite as strong as the others featured on this CD, but its excellent fiddle and the passion that Justin puts into the vocals make it work better than it might have by someone else.

The next song, “She Didn’t Color Daddy”, was penned by Scott Turner and Ray Warrant. This is a slow ballad put to a waltz with heart breaking lyrics about how his daughter colored a picture depicting her life without a father.

“Then And Only Then”, a Bill Anderson song, is lead by a steel guitar that wails the passion behind the words in this song, a song proclaiming his love for a woman.

Levi Mullen’s song, “I Saw A Man Dying”, in which Levi plays lead guitar, is a chilling song that makes you stop and think.

Justin picks up the tempo for the last song, “Old Faithful”, a Mel Tillis song about cheating…no country album should be without one.

“Cuz Old Faithful ain’t so faithful anymore
She’s steppin’ out to even up the score.
She’s out there where the lights are bright
Wining, dining every night
And Old Faithful ain’t so faithful anymore”. (Strike up the fiddle here!)

I must acknowledge the musicians, because they all impressed me. They are:

Justin Trevino – Lead vocals and electric bass
John “Smiley” Reynolds – Drums
Bobby Flores – Fiddle
Levi Mullen – Lead guitar
Debra Hurd – Piano
Dicky Overbey – Pedal Steel Guitar
Levi Mullen & Justin Trevino- Rhythm guitar
Justin Trevino, DeeJee Overbey- Harmony vocals
Ernie Reed – Fiddle (“Sound That A Breaking Heart Makes”)
Jimmy C. Newman and Wanda Jackson- Vocals

This album is “pure country” in the most traditional sense of the word. It’s nice to know that there are still artists out there doing the traditional styles like this one. Justin knew what he was doing when he gathered this group of talented song writers and musicians to do this project with him.

And Lone Star Records knew what they were doing when they took in this talent. With traditionalists like Trevino, Johnny Bush and Roger Wallace on their team (among many others), Lone Star Records seems to be embracing traditional country music, and they seem to be finding the right artists to do it. It’s also nice to see that a good artist can pick some strong covers and make them all work. I can honestly say that there wasn’t a weak one on the disc. I would like to see Justin write more, because I really liked the song “Scene Of The Crying”.

The only other thing I could say about this one is to go out and buy it (or order it online), sprinkle a little sawdust on the kitchen floor, dim the lights, pop a top, and take your darlin’ dancin' in your "home" bar compliments of Justin Trevino. As you can probably tell, I'm a honky tonk loving gal, so this one is a keeper in my collection.

Happy Trails,
Miss Lana

Written by Lana Hughes, February, 2003

Order Justin Trevino's CD

Read Justin's bio on TMG's site

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