James Robert Webb’s “Lost in Vega$” is one of country music’s best singles in 2024. It’s the latest first taste from the native Oklahoman’s upcoming full-length album Weekend Outlaw and deeply impacts listeners. I love how Webb revamps the anthemic country AOR sound for modern audiences. He rides the forceful drumming production without succumbing to its possible excesses. Guitars come across as a virtual six-string army, big and buoyant, and the pace gives us little time to catch our breaths.
Not that we want to.
I don’t. “Lost in Vega$” locked me in from the beginning with its bold sound. It doesn’t try being anything it’s not and invites listeners into its world from the first note. James Robert Webb’s artistry is communal. Songs such as this are not internal monologues but outward-looking performances that invite the audience to share in looking at its subject.
It is a love song. It isn’t the sappy, saccharine sort of love song that you might dread before playing this the first time. Instead, James Robert Webb’s take on the form pushes the right buttons, pursues the right story arcs, and embraces an intelligence level missing from similar releases. Las Vegas figures into the lyrics enough that it brings another layer to the songwriting, and the song’s masterful ability to depict timeless human interactions with such blunt language is one factor making this an excellent song.
The musicianship is another. Polished yet passionate playing presides over the entirety of “Lost in Vega$” and close listeners will hear how it inspires Webb’s singing. I think the drumming is a high point for me. It steers the overall performance through peaks and valleys with a satisfying blend of power and taste. The playing knows exactly when to bring the hammer down and when to hang back.
It is certainty that defines every aspect of the performance. “Lost in Vega$” always sounds sure. It never exhausts the listener’s patience and demonstrates a good idea of what many country and rock country fans want to hear in 2024. It doesn’t mean he’s pandering. This is the vision that James Robert Webb has for his music and, if you hear lesser artists turn out by rote songs sounding the same, rest easy knowing that Webb never will. He wants to leave his mark.
This musculoskeletal radiologist from the Tulsa, Oklahoma area makes a positive difference in people’s lives each day. He has the same ambitions for his music. Perhaps it gives you something to identify with in an increasingly isolated world. Perhaps you hear echoes of your life in the lyrics, or the song gets you through a thorny day. I believe that James Robert Webb’s new album Weekend Outlaw will pursue that goal at greater heights than ever before. It’s well worth making that trip with him, and who knows where he goes from here. However, I think his potential is as limitless as ever. This new single places him in a higher tier for me than ever before.
Chadwick Easton