In 2018, the internet was reintroduced to the older sounds of country music by way of 11-year-old Mason Ramsey. Ramsey who had been filmed in a Walmart in Harrisburg, Illinois singing “Lovesick Blues,” by Hank Williams, went viral with the clip reintroducing America to the roots of country music. After appearing on the Ellen Degeneres Show and performing at the Grand Ole Opry one week later, Ramsey would go on to release several EP’s and then take an extended hiatus until last year, when he dropped the stand-alone single “Reasons To Come Home,” a tribute to his grandparents who raised him and his “map dot” home town of Golconda, Illinois.
While Ramsey has been in and out of the music industry for the past few years, his loyal fans have stayed with him, enjoying a country sound we no longer hear of. Upon the release of “Reasons To Come Home,” he was clearly putting the authenticity back in country music. Now with the release of his first full-length album, I’ll See You In My Dreams, we are taken back in time to the ’60s and 70’s as Mason’s vocals are deeper, more defined, and as we get into the deeper cuts of the record, Ramsey’s songs feel like he should have been born in another era.
Opening with the LP’s title track, the light retro feel brings up nostalgic feelings of a simpler time and within a minute of the track starting, we realize the type of music Ramsey wants to create. Completely devoid of the produced and flashy country music of today, “I’ll See You In My Dreams,” is just Mason and his band, and its mellow tone has the potential to be an inspiration to upcoming country artists who want to pay tribute to some of the genre’s greats.
The record’s third song is “All The Way To Memphis,” conjuring up the sounds of Elvis, and while Ramsey sings about chasing a girl, his old soul style shines through, and as we listen, we wonder how this track would sound acoustic as his voice completely carries the song. “The Woman From Havana” is up next and while Mason experiments with a spicy Latin sound on this track, “Woman…” serves as the transition track from the rest of the album. Slightly more upbeat, we get away from the sounds of the previous tunes, allowing Mason and his band to play around with different sounds, which adds flare and character.
Cuts such as “Lies, Lies, Lies” introduce horns into Mason’s music and while each of the previous songs were ones to remember, with this track we feel like we can finally get up and dance, something that Mason has been great at since the beginning. “Prettiest Girl At The Dance,” is another vibrant tune that will make its way onto many playlists as it cements Mason’s talent as an upcoming country vocalist who wants to give country fans something different, whether they have been along for the entire ride or whether they showed up yesterday. “All I See Is You,” closes I’ll See You In My Dreams, and Mason’s voice and the piano wraps the record perfectly. While it is hard to know where Mason’s career will go, for his dedicated listeners he’s already risen to the top, and for everyone else, we hope they take note as Ramsey does not deserve to be missed.
I’ll See You In My Dreams is out now via Atlantic Records.
