Kaitlin Butts’ latest long player has been in heavy rotation in my household since the double dose of red vinyl arrived late Thursday afternoon. To say that it’s whimsical, fun and frolicsome is an understatement—it’s everything good about country music and popular music writ large.
Butts, who is a lifelong fan of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s Oklahoma!, hit upon the idea of shaping an album inspired by the classic musical after introducing the movie to her husband, Flatland Cavalry’s Cleto Cordero, and realizing that two songs she’d recently written fit its story. (See her Instagram post about the album’s roots for more.) The 17 tracks include two tunes from the long-running Broadway hit, “Overture: My New Life Starts Today” and “People Will Say We’re in Love,” plus two covers, “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” and “Hunt You Down,” that fit the conceit, along with a string of additional songs sure to hit home regardless of how familiar one is with either the play or 1955 film.
I can safely say that last bit because I saw the movie once or twice many, many moons ago in the pre-cable TV days (aka the 1970s) on what was likely a rainy Saturday or Sunday afternoon; pairing the tracks to its scenes and characters, for me, is a fool’s errand. My wife, on the other hand, knows the musical quite well and, while we were out and about Saturday morning, easily discerned the songs’ influences.
The 60-minute album opens with the “Overture” before the rip-roaring “Roadrunner” runs roughshod over wily coyotes everywhere. “Other Girls (Ain’t Having Any Fun)” digs into what sets her apart from others, while “Wild Juanita’s Cactus Juice” is destined, if there’s any justice in this world, to be a concert sing-a-long. “Come Rest Your Head (on My Pillow),” a duet with Vince Gill, was inspired by a concert-goers’ tank top that had “Cowboy Pillows” sprawled across her chest; it’s the epitome of sweetness, however, as is the duet with Cordero that follows, “People Will Say We’re in Love.” “Buckaroo” is, too. “That’ll Never Be Me” sports the effortless swing of Emmylou Harris circa the late 1970s, while the lyrics share the story of a woman who wants more out of life than what’s expected of her. “Spur,” one of the two songs written prior to the project, continues in the same basic vein.
Butts, for those not up on their music genres and sub-genres, is deemed “red dirt” country due to making her bones in the red dirt state of Oklahoma—specifically, the city of Stillwater, which is home to Oklahoma State University and, as with many college towns, a vibrant music scene. What accents her specific sound the most, however, are her immersive vocals. As I noted in my review of her 2022 sophomore set, What Else Can She Do, “On the one hand, they’re akin to fireworks lighting up a cloudless sky; on the other, they well and swell like the ocean tide in the dark of night—or, to appropriate yet another metaphor, rain down from overhead. Either/or, in the last instances, you’re left drenched.”
Those fiery vocals are on full display here, with further pyrotechnics added by the sizzling guitars in “If I Can’t Have You”—no, not the Bee Gees-penned Yvonne Elliman song, though that might have been fun, but an original that rocks hard. “Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” injects new life into Cher’s 1966 hit single, which was written by Sonny Bono. The humorous “You Ain’t Gotta Die (to Be Dead to Me)” offers advice for how to treat unruly men, while the gentle “Like I Should” digs into the loneliness of life on the road.
“Hunt You Down” is a rollicking cover of a Kesha song—and since I’ve never heard the original, I can’t compare. But it’s a profane declaration of love and fidelity, with violence promised if he’s unfaithful, and undeniably catchy. “Followed You to Vegas,” on the other hand, celebrates love and marriage. The album closes with the aching yet sweet “Elsa,” which could well be the theme song for staff members in assisted living facilities everywhere.
As I said up top, Roadrunner! is a whimsical, fun and frolicsome outing, somewhat of a cool mix between country music and musical theater. All but the hard-hearted should enjoy it.
I do have (minor) issues with the double-LP set itself, however. As the images above and to the left show, It features a cool design and lists all the musicians, but lacks song-writing credits as well as lyrics—both of which can be had via Apple Music (and other streaming platforms, no doubt). It’s mystifying as to why they aren’t included with the physical product. That shouldn’t stop one from purchasing it, however; my copy, which is autographed, is fire red vinyl. (FYI, signed copies for both the LP and CD versions are still available from her online store as I write, though I’m sure at some juncture that will no longer be the case.)
The track listing:
The Old Grey Cat 
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