Sturgill Simpson’s “Turtles All the Way Down” is my favorite song of 2014

“There’s a gateway in our mind that leads somewhere out there beyond this plane –
Where reptile aliens made of light cut you open and pull out all your pain.”

If you’re inclined to believe all the major music sites and publications, Kentucky-born performer Sturgill Simpson’s album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (a title-ode to a classic Ray Charles record) was one of the very best releases of the year.

In Thom Jurek’s All Music Guide review, he wrote of the sophomore effort:

Metamodern Sounds in Country Music is wildly adventurous; it extends the musical promise outlaw music made to listeners over 40 years ago. Simpson is too honest, restless and dedicated to country music’s illustrious legacy to simply frame it as a musical museum piece. As an artist of uncommon ability, he has learned from its hallowed lineage and storied past that in order for it to evolve, it cannot be reined in; it must be free to roam in order to create its future. His visionary work on this album opens the gate wide on that frontier.

It certainly challenges the Nashville machine that recycles new ways to rehash lifestyle themes like trucks, painted on jeans and the like… Nowhere is this affront to anything you might hear on country radio more identifiable than the lead track, “Turtles All the Way Down.”

The song that talks of God, Buddha, LSD, cosmic reptiles and the concepts of space and time has been one of the most analyzed of the year. In perfect country fashion, Simpson provided a simple explanation to NPR on what he says it’s about:

To me “Turtles” is about giving your heart to love and treating everyone with compassion and respect no matter what you do or don’t believe.

Here’s the official video:

The title, as Sturgill explained to Nashville Scene, comes from “this old myth that the Earth is like a giant flat disc that sits on the back of this giant cosmic turtle that carries it through space. Which is another way of saying that no matter what you believe they’re all just theories and nobody really knows sh*t.”

As many of the best country songs do, Simpson brings it all back home with one straight forward assessment:

“But love’s the only thing that ever saved my life.”

The song’s distinct production might fool you into thinking that Sturgill could have tricked his way into such a great work. As an example of his exemplary vocals, playing and ability to get across a song – here’s his unfiltered performance of “Turtles” from NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series:

Sounding like Waylon Jennings – but with his own distinct timbre, playing the hell out of that guitar and backing it all up with killer songs that seem like he could have woodshed ’em with True Detectives‘ Rust Cohle sets Simpson up for what will hopefully be one heck of a great run.

Thanks to Mr. Simpson for dropping my favorite song of 2014 – what was yours?