Like many bands before, the outlaw/southern rock band Steel Woods, faced a critical decision upon the passing of co-founder Rowdy Cope in January 2021, whether to disband or co-forward. Cope and co-founder Wes Bayliss were the principal songwriters and dual focal points of the group. Deciding to march forward, although it took some time to muster the wherewithal to record again, Bayliss leads the way with On Your Time, lyrically and sonically resembling their previous three. In fact, the linchpin theme through most of the album picks up on the mythical character, Uncle Floyd, who they introduced, courtesy of Darrell Scott’s pen, on their first album.
They are still mostly a hard-driving, loud, guitar-led unit with restraint enough to deliver country ballads. Bassist Johnny Stanton, guitarist Tyler Powers, and drummer Isaac Senty comprise the band along with Bayliss, the lead vocalist, and guitarist. Along with Bayliss’ originals, the band covers Gretchen Peters and Kris Kristofferson across the ten tracks. Oh, and although Scott doesn’t have a tune here, he does contribute steel guitar to two of them.
“The Man from Everywhere” kicks off the group of thematic Uncle Lloyd songs. The character is a drifter who becomes part of the family even though he’s not a blood relative. The tune is a prequel, explaining how Uncle Lloyd left his wife and family to head out on an ambiguous journey. The tale of Uncle Lloyd is certainly evident in the ballad “Stories to Tell Myself” – “About a man from everywhere/One that I knew so well,” Bayliss sings in his full-throated, forceful style throughout, with guitars and Dobros weaving through behind him.
The ten years his partner, Cope, spent in Jamey Johnson’s band echo through his vocals and even the songwriting as evidenced in the co-write “Broken Down Dam,” which shines through the piercing steel playing of Scott. “Cut the Grass” with its dense, heavier sound, was inspired by Bayliss’ four children as is true for the title track as well. In the former, the guitars rage Skynyrd style while Bayliss espouses the values of being a dad, hard work, procrastination, and a bit of philosophy. Likewise, in the standout balladic title track, Bayliss sings like the wise sage passing life’s lessons down to his offspring.
While some songs don’t fit the Uncle Lloyd story such as Hendrix-infused “Devil in the Holler,” it still has the character in mind, as if to say what happens when one strays off the path. The thumping blues stomper “Famine and Fortune” presents the Adam and Eve story in modern-day terms. The closer, “If Not for the Rain” is a gentle country waltz ruminating on happiness.
Reflecting his good tastes in songwriters, Bayliss begins with a faithful reading of Gretchen Peters’ “You Don’t Know Who I Am,” about the breakup of a marriage from both the male and female viewpoint, but his vocal reaches a not uncommon feverish pitch on the chorus as the band swells behind him, again with stellar Dobro playing. Kristofferson’s “Border Lord,” about a desperado on the run, fits the theme of the album and though the outlaw-like lyrics seem perfectly suited to Bayliss’ musical persona, this may be the album’s only misstep, albeit a minor one. Kristofferson’s original had a more dramatic quality to the narrative that this version somehow failed to capture.
Bayliss attests to a different writing process in making the album, but he and his bandmates have clearly preserved the roughly honed Steel Woods southern rocking outlaw sound, especially in the original material.
