"an independent view"
by Linda Fryer, BMI, CLA
© August, 2001

"SOUNDS LIKE TEXAS"
ARTIST:
DUGG COLLINS
CD TITLE:
" SOUNDS LIKE TEXAS"
RECORD LABEL:
STARTEX RECORDS
PRODUCER:
JIM LOESSBERG
OK, I've listened to a lot of CD's this past week….not feelin' too perky, so most didn't really do too much for me, even though, I've sense recognized them as TERRIFIC!!! One comes to mind, as I listen to it again today. This one, by the famous DJ, Dugg Collins, really is a wonderful example of pure Texas music. I was able to listen to this one, as a sorta backdrop to what I was doin'…(and painting was what I was doin' today)…some music does NOT mix well with watercolors. Why? Because some of it just demands a closer listen…this one, on the other hand, was purely enjoyable…I didn't feel the need to concentrate on it….it sorta just found its way inside me. Before I knew what was happening, I forgot I was workin' and I finished the project, AND enjoyed every minute of the music that was surrounding me, and takin' me to that special "painting place" I have to go to, to really create something good! I know that sounds kinda funny, but it's the darned truth!! Now, I first discovered this a few years ago, when I seriously took up painting…the studio where I was workin on my projects, at the time, had Larry Gatlin playing, almost constantly! And it seemed that it sorta sunk in….I found it difficult to paint without him! But there have been others since then. Not all of them, of course. Not even if I liked them a LOT! Some singers are just more inspiring, somehow, than others. And Dugg Collins, I've discovered, is one of them! I enjoyed his music…I felt comfortable with his voice…I didn't feel pushed….I didn't feel compelled to DO anything in particular. I just felt like this guy had been around forever….I felt like I KNEW him! It's strange how an artist can do that to ya….and if you listen to Dugg's work, I think you'll feel the same way. He's just a guy who makes you feel right at home, as he sings.

Dugg Collins, who was born in Texas, in an area that's been dubbed as "Bob Wills Country". Now, I ask you, who wouldn't come up singin' their hearts out when they were surrounded by that kind of history?
Dugg, of course, as many of you already know, is quite a well-known, and highly awarded DJ. He's been practically everywhere that counts. And he's been practically every award that a DJ could wish for…including this year….being inducted into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame! But that's just one of the many awards and honors he's received during his successful and exciting career in radio. And now, with this CD, he's proven that his talent stretches far beyond SPINNIN' the records…He SINGS them too! And he's even written 2 out of the 14 songs you'll get on this disc, "Each Time I Hear That Song", and "Think of Me When a Fool is Talked About". And he's selected some of the favorites of western music, for the rest of the CD…including a wonderful old song by Roger Miller, "When Your House is not a Home". I loved every song on the CD, and that's not true of many albums.

He lives in Kansas now, and remains a radio man…but he loves to sing…and you know that, the minute you hear his music! You know he was born to it! You hear his love of the music…of the words …of the very idea of performing! And we're very lucky that he does. Because his new CD, "Sounds Like Texas", is GREAT! If you're a Texan, a fan of Western Swing, a fan of Honky Tonk, or just a fan of good clean country music, you'll love this CD. I, myself, am honored to have received it. After all this time, it still amazes me that anyone would take seriously, what I do. That they would want ME, to review their music! That they think anyone out there cares what I think of the music! But I'm humbled every time I open my mailbox, and find another CD there, waiting for me to listen and review it….most are really outstanding works….very few have disappointed me….I'm thrilled and honored to be one of the people who is trying to open up THIS country (the USA), to OUR country, REAL country, INDEPENDENT country music! Dugg
Collins is one of the artists who can do that…he has a magical way of singing and putting the 'texas sound' out there. Thanks, Dugg, for allowing me to write about it!

I hope you all will take some time to find his work, perhaps visit the website www.startexRecords.com , where he's one of the featured artists, and listen to his music. I KNOW you'll enjoy it. And, of course, I highly recommend that you add this one to your collection. In fact, I'm not sure a REAL country music collection, would be complete without it! …but then……that's just….