Book Review: John Kruth's To Live's to Fly: The Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt (2007)

There are two things that everybody seemingly agrees on in the pages of To Live's To Fly, John Kruth's excellent biography of Townes Van Zandt: first, TVZ was one of the greatest songwriters that country music has every known; and second, TVZ was one messed up dude.

For those unfamiliar with the man that many consider country music's poet laureate, Townes Van Zandt was born to a wealthy Fort Worth, Texas family whose roots reach back to the city's founding. Like most musicians of his generation, a 12-year-old Townes was mesmerized by Elvis Presley's 1956 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Afterwards, Kruth writes that "overnight, Van Zandt became completely obsessed with rock and roll." Having grown up on the country sounds of Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams, Van Zandt's new favorites were Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Everly Brothers. It was his father, however, who suggested that he begin writing his own songs, pointing the young Van Zandt towards his eventual destiny.

Van Zandt went to college, but he really wasn't one to attend classes, instead preferring to lock himself in his room, drink, listen to records, and play the guitar. The education he received wasn't what his parents believed it would be. Concerned about his drinking and wild ways, his parents had TVZ committed to a mental hospital in Galveston, Texas where he was diagnosed as "manic depressive" and received three months of electric-and-insulin-shock therapy. The impact this treatment had on Van Zandt is arguable, but it most likely contributed to his ongoing adult depression, alcoholism and mental instability.

He married, went back to college for a while, finally dropping out in 1964, ending up in Houston doing the only thing he had ever really wanted to do: sing and write songs. Van Zandt fell in with a like-minded crowd of singer/songwriters that included life-long friend Guy Clark, Mickey Newbury, and Jerry Jeff Walker. It was here that Van Zandt honed his performance skills and began displaying the songwriting skills that have made him a legend.

Over the next 30 years, Van Zandt would go on to record some two-dozen albums for a number of independent labels and write scores of songs, some like "Pancho & Lefty" or "If I Needed You" becoming significant hits for other artists. He moved to Nashville in 1976, but headed back to Texas in '78 and didn't record again for almost a decade. He landed back in the "Music City" just when his songwriting fortunes began to rise, and it was in Nashville that he died on New Year's Day, 1997.

The mystery of Van Zandt's appeal is easy to solve. A charismatic personality and performer, Van Zandt possessed a great charm and intelligence. By any standards, Van Zandt wasn't really a country artist...influenced greatly by bluesman Lightnin' Hopkins, his music is more a mix of twangy folk and country blues. His skill with the language, however, is pure poetry, his lyrics expressing intricate thoughts and emotions but flowing casually. His influence on songwriters crosses all musical genres, however, and it comes as no surprise that artists as disparate as Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Mudhoney, and the Cowboy Junkies, among others, have recorded his songs.

To Live's To Fly" offers an in-depth and, at times, depressingly exhaustive overview of Van Zandt's life, from childhood through his death. Kruth interviewed hundreds of Van Zandt's friends, family and fellow artists and paints a detailed portrait of both the man and the demons that plagued him for most of his life. Most of all, Kruth provides an understanding of the man through both his actions and his songs. (Da Capo Press, published March 5th, 2007)

Review originally published by Country Standard Time music zine 

Buy the book from Amazon: John Kruth's To Live's to Fly: The Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt

Archive Review: Todd Snider's That Was Me 1994-1998 (2005)

If you ever have the opportunity to catch singer/songwriter Todd Snider in a live setting, don’t let it pass you by. Charming to a fault, with a casual on-stage presence and between song rapport and no little amount of charisma, Snider creates the most intimate of listening experiences. Yeah, and he writes pretty damn good songs, too, mixing up shots of roots-rock, folk lyricism and country flavor with an alt-rock slacker ethos to create some of the most amusing and thought-provoking music that you’ll hear.

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Snider is a Nashville artist by default, making his way to the Music City by way of Austin, Atlanta, and Memphis. Don’t mistake this talented troubadour for one of your typical Nashville “hat acts,” however. Snider has an appreciation for his roots that Music Row could never muster and although his work can get twangy at times, this is no redneck rocker or pop-country artist we’re talking about here. As the story goes, Snider was working the Daily Planet club in Memphis when he came to the attention of songwriter Keith Sykes from Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer band, which led to a subsequent major league deal with Buffet’s MCA-distributed Margaritaville Records label.

Todd Snider’s That Was Me

That Was Me 1994-1998 compiles the best material from the three albums that young Todd made for Margaritaville, a sort of “best of” collection from Snider’s early years. Snider was already a considerably talented songwriter by the time of his 1994 debut Songs For The Daily Planet, able to turn a phrase and tell a story with ease. Over the course of these three Margaritaville/MCA albums, Snider would be buffeted from one style to another (pun intended) as he searched for a musical identity free of label executive opinion. By the time of his final album for the label, Viva Satellite, Snider had been recast as a Tom Petty-styled roots rocker with a more raucous sound that felt forced. Snider subsequently signed to John Prine’s indie label Oh Boy Records in 2000, the result a more nurturing environment that has seen some of Snider’s best work released over the course of four albums.

That’s not to say that the material on That Was Me 1994-1998 isn’t worthwhile. It’s still Todd Snider, an artist that this humble scribe has long felt is underrated and underappreciated for the humor, insight and talent that he brings to his craft. Snider’s initial stabs at often self-deprecating humor are here, including his spot-on satire of grunge, “Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues,” delivered with Todd’s best Dylan imitation, and “Alright Guy,” a tale of a day gone horribly wrong. There are barroom ballads like “Trouble” and story songs like “Moondawg’s Tavern” and “Easy Money” and heartland rockers like “Hey Hey.” The folkish, socially-conscious talking blues of “Tension” foreshadow much of Snider’s later work while songs like “Horseshoe Lake” and the hauntingly beautiful “You Think You Know Somebody” reveal Snider’s serious side, showcasing his ability to weave a thoughtful, emotionally-moving tale with his words.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Snider is a gifted wordsmith, a poet of considerable insight and intelligence. Much like his “boss” and mentor John Prine, Snider continues to get better with age and experience. An excellent introduction to Snider’s work for the uninitiated, That Was Me 1994-1998 documents an integral period of the artist’s career, his formative years as it were, a small part of the ongoing story of this still-maturing talent. (Hip-O Records, released 2005)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™ zine, 2005

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Todd Snider’s That Was Me 1994-1998

Archive Review: Ray Wylie Hubbard's Crusades of the Restless Knights (1999)

There’s no room for grizzled old poets in Nashville, just pretty boys in tight jeans and cowboy hats, vacant stares not at all concealing blank slates. Ray Wylie Hubbard, on the other hand, looks like an old book; his face lined with experience, his songs vivid pages illustrated with great craftsmanship, tales sharing the beauty of life in all of its ups and downs. Crusades of the Restless Knights is the kind of album that only a survivor could make, somebody with a few miles under their belt, more than a few scars on both their bodies and their souls and the musical vocabulary to share it with the listener.

Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Crusades of the Restless Knights

A long-time fixture on a Texas music scene that includes fellow talents like Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, and the late Townes Van Zandt, Ray Wylie Hubbard is best known, perhaps, for his wild reckless ways and unshakeable status as one of the founders of the 1970s-era “Cosmic Cowboy” scene. In his heart, however, Hubbard is a folk singer and, at its root, Crusades of the Restless Knights is a spiritual journey both lyrically and musically. In songs peopled with angels and demons, saints and criminals, star-crossed lovers and broken heroes, Hubbard has created a not-so-gentile Faulkner South, weaving wonderful stories from the fabric of his experience and insightful observations.

Many of the tales on Crusades of the Restless Knights, songs like “This River Runs Red” concern themselves with the choices people make in this life, offering a world where you’re either saved or a sinner and there’s a fine line between the two. “There Are Some Ways” is as much about the pain of growing older as it is about the regrets of no longer being young. Hubbard is not an altogether somber wordsmith, however, as proven by the side-splitting, knee-slapping religious commentary of “Conversation With the Devil.” A classic talking blues with acoustic accompaniment that was inspired by an actual dream, the song cleverly tars abusive parents, right-wing Christians, and Nashville record execs with the brush of damnation. The song revisits the fiddle contest in Charlie Daniels’ classic “Devil Went Down To Georgia” before closing with the inspired lines “some get spiritual cause they see the light/and some cause they feel the heat.”

Aside from its underlying themes of hope and redemption, Crusades of the Restless Knights also honors those who have already gone to their judgement. “Airplane Fell Down In Dixie” pays homage to the fallen members of Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd while “The Messenger,” from an earlier Hubbard album, is amended here as a tribute to fellow Texan Townes Van Zandt, with beautiful backing vocals from Patty Griffin. Echoing, perhaps, Hubbard’s own artistic redemption, “The Messenger” closes the album with the ultimate statement of hope: “I just want to see what’s next.”

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Filled with vivid imagery, masterfully painted characters and intelligent, literary lyrics, Crusades of the Restless Knights is everything a country album should be, Hubbard the kind of artist that Nashville labels should be signing. Too raw, too honest and too talented for “Music Row,” Hubbard remains a country outsider creating art that rises above commerce, music that looks to the future while paying heavy dues to the ghosts of the past. One of the year’s best efforts and a timeless collection of songs, I’d heartily recommend Crusades of the Restless Knights to any music lover who values craft and skill above style and trends. (Rounder Records, released July 20, 1999)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 1999

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Crusades of the Restless Knights

Archive Review: Rosie Flores' Dance Hall Dreams (1999)

Rosie Flores has come a long way since her mid-eighties stint as guitarist for flamboyant female cowpunkers the Screamin’ Sirens. Over the past decade and a half or so she’s managed to build a career and a fine rep as a better-than-average songwriter and a skilled six-string maestro – such a good reputation that she was asked to tour with western swing aficionados Asleep At The Wheel as their guitarist. A handful of solo albums has served as solid credentials for an artist too traditional for Nashville yet too country for the rock world.

Rosie Flores’ Dance Hall Dreams

As shown by Dance Hall Dreams, Flores’ recent Rounder Records release, there’s still quite a fire burning in this lass and if Music Row is too blind to notice it, well, this critic isn’t. Dance Hall Dreams is a wonderful collection of performances, a fresh breath of country-flavored artistry that is at both tough and tender, emotional and intellectual.

Dance Hall Dreams opens with a nifty little piece of western swing titled “Little Bit More,” a funny bit of bragging that stands up even after repeated listens. The mournful “Tremolo” and Flores’ touching song about her father, “Who’s Gonna Fix It Now” are both radio-ready hits if country radio wasn’t so petrified by trends and bad taste. Flores’ cover of “Funnel of Love” is a rocking little number that stays true to Wanda Jackson’s original while “Bring It On” is a swinging little love song propelled by Flores’ come-hither vocals and some tasty pedal steel. “It Came From Memphis” tackles the birth of rock ‘n’ roll and along the way name-checks some of the great talents of country and rock both, including Sonny Burgess, Scottie Moore, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

In her heart, Rosie Flores is a country traditionalist, masterfully blending elements of 1960s-era honky tonk with western swing and roots-rock. A charismatic and energetic performer, a fine songwriter and a guitarist of some style and imagination, Flores deserves a much wider audience than her indie label efforts have brought her. If there were anybody in Nashville with the intelligence to recognize her talents and with the guts to sign Flores to a major label deal and promote her, the results would be phenomenal. Commercial country music could only benefit from a wider audience entertained by an artist of Flores’ talents and passion. (Rounder Records, released March 2, 1999)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™ music zine

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Rosie Flores’ Dance Hall Dreams

Archive Review: Electric Flag’s Old Glory The Best Of Electric Flag (1995)

If Michael Bloomfield was still alive today, he would surely enjoy the same sort of elder statesman status that has been bestowed upon Eric Clapton. During the late 1960s/early ’70s, Bloomfield – a middle class white kid from Chicago – was accorded the kind of critical acclaim that only British guitarists like Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page received. Poor health, a fragmented recorded legacy, and his mysterious death in 1981 has instead relegated Bloomfield to the history books as an interesting, if obscure, icon of the period.

It’s a shame, too, because as anyone who has heard Bloomfield at his best would testify to, he was one of the most exciting and intricate axemen of the era – Hendrix included. Electric Flag, Bloomfield’s ill-fated stab at success, was conceived of as an "American” music band, that is, a vehicle for gathering together two decades of rock, soul, and blues into one musical entity. The original band only released one album, A Long Time Comin’ before splintering into different factions, with Bloomfield the first to leave due to his health.

Most of that album is represented by Old Glory: The Best of Electric Flag, the eight cuts culled from Flag’s debut illustrating a band that is trying to cover too much artistic ground at one time. It nevertheless serves as an excellent showcase for Bloomfield’s six-string prowess, building upon his work with the Butterfield Blues Band and opening the door for the solo work to follow. Cuts taken from The Electric Flag: An American Music Band, the band’s second album are sans Bloomfield and mostly provide a forum for the less subtle musical tendencies of ersatz band leader Buddy Miles.

A few rarities and a pair of unreleased live cuts taken from the band’s debut performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 round out the compilation. I’d recommend Bloomfield's solo material or his work with the Butterfield Blues Band first, but if you're hungry for more after that, check out Old Glory: The Best of Electric Flag for another look at this unheralded talent. (Sony Legacy Recordings, 1995)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Old Glory: The Best of Electric Flag

Archive Review: John Hiatt’s Crossing Muddy Waters (2000)

Crossing Muddy Waters, John Hiatt’s current acoustic project, makes perfect sense considering that Hiatt has always been about 25% folkie, 25% country, and 50% rocker at heart. Hiatt mixes all of his artistic inclinations together on Crossing Muddy Waters, throwing them into a big pot, adding a dash of soul and some blues to make a big ol’ tasty musical gumbo!

A gifted songwriter who has received far more recognition for other people’s versions of his material than for his own recordings, the raw ambiance of Crossing Muddy Waters probably won’t do much to lift Hiatt from undeserved obscurity.

John Hiatt’s Crossing Muddy Waters

Crossing Muddy Waters is a fine collections of songs, though, Hiatt’s masterful tales of the rural south exploring themes such as unrequited love, betrayal, religion and death that remain universal in their appeal. At this point in his lengthy career, Hiatt certainly harbors no illusions, and even if other people’s recordings of his songs have made him comfortable, his songs remain as intelligent and thoughtful as ever. Like most every other John Hiatt album that I’ve ever heard, there are some real gems among the tracks, and Crossing Muddy Waters is no exception.

“Gone” is a song of lost love that is nevertheless funny, the singer comparing his true love’s departure to other fleeting moments in life. “Mr. Stanley” is a bluesy dirge done Mississippi Delta style while the title cut is a lyrical “who dunnit” – why did the woman run away and leave her daughter behind? “God’s Golden Eyes” is a spiritual reflection on nature’s beauty and the intricacy of love. The album-closer, “Before I Go,” is a lively tale of eternal love that is rife with imagery and emotion (and will probably become a big hit for some other artist).

Aside from songwriting, another talent of Hiatt’s has been his ability to work with some of the best musicians around. Crossing Muddy Waters is no exception, with Hiatt enlisting the help of former Camper Van Beethoven members Davey Faragher and David Immergluck to help get his acoustic ideas across.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Crossing Muddy Waters has been nominated for a Grammy Award™ for “Best Folk Album” but it is much deeper than that. John Hiatt is an American treasure, a humble poet laureate with talents as wide and deep as the great Mississippi. His contributions to rock, country, and folk music is immeasurable and, as proven once again by Crossing Muddy Waters, Hiatt only continues to get better with age. (Vanguard Records, 2000)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 2001

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: John Hiatt’s Crossing Muddy Waters

Archive Review: John Doe's Meet John Doe (1990)

As bass player for X, the now infamous early ‘80s Los Angeles punk band, John Doe was something of a trendsetter. With a fast ‘n’ furious guitar-oriented rock style and decadence-tinged lyrics courtesy of Mr. Doe and X vocalist and then Mrs. Doe, Exene Cervenka, X was a stylistic precursor not only for many of the hardcore bands that would follow, but for many of today’s college market “alternative” bands as well.

An unusual dichotomy existed, though. Doe and X, for all their lyrical erudition and undeniable punk attitude and fury, drew not only on influences as obvious as the Doors, Lou Reed, and the Velvet Underground but upon other, less ‘hip’ artists as the Bobby Fuller Four, Chuck Berry, and Gene Vincent, as well as elements of country and folk music. Although derivative musically, the fresh twist which X put on an old sound – as well as their intelligent lyrics, often inspired or affected by the tension in the Doe/Cervenka relationship – won the band a growing audience and critical acclaim, if not wide-spread acceptance, until their self-destruction.

Which brings us to Meet John Doe, Doe’s pseudonymous solo debut; the results are pleasantly unexpected. Drawing upon an obvious wealth of knowledge of American musical styles, Doe has assembled a top-notch collection of songs which incorporate decades of progress in rock ‘n’ roll, blues, county, and even folk music. It’s a delicate balancing act, though Doe pulls it off, rocking furiously on one tune, waxing poetic on the next.

Lyrically, Doe ranges from merely competent to sporadic brilliance, his vocals matching the material well, the backing instrumentation tight and professional (featuring talents like Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne, slide guitarist Greg Leisz, and Television guitarist Richard Lloyd). Meet John Doe offers a pleasant mixed-bag of musical styles and inspirations; it’s a strong debut that will appeal to fans of X, Dave Alvin, the Blasters, and anyone who loves roots-flavored American music. (Geffen Records, released May 29, 1990)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: John Doe’s Meet John Doe

Review originally published by Play Magazine, July 1990

American music legend Tony Joe White, R.I.P.

Tony Joe White 2018, photo courtesy Yep Roc Records

Singer, songwriter, and American music legend Tony Joe White has passed away at the age of 75 years according to his record label Yep Roc Records and confirmed by his family. A heart attack is said to be the cause of death.

White was a prolific songwriter and recording artist with sixteen studio albums, four live albums, and 29 singles to his name including “Polk Salad Annie,” the 1969 hit that would become his signature song. White’s career spanned 50+ years as he plumbed the depths of American music with an enduring blend of roots-rock, country, blues, and country music that would influence an entire generation of young singer/songwriters.

As a songwriter, White’s songs were recorded by artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, and Dusty Springfield, among many others. In addition to “Polk Salad Annie,” which has been covered by over a dozen artists, White wrote “Rainy Night In Georgie,” which became a #4 chart hit in 1970 for R&B star Brook Benton. The song has since been recorded by a number of country, blues, soul, and even reggae artists.

White never scored another big hit after “Polk Salad Annie” and his career struggled during the late 1970s and well into the ‘80s until he was asked to produce a single track for Tina Turner’s 1989 album Foreign Affair. White ended up contributing four songs to the album, including the title track and the hit single “Steamy Windows,” as well as playing guitar and harmonica on the tracks. The success of Foreign Affair (over six million copies sold worldwide) rejuvenated White’s career, and he continued to tour and record until his death.

Tony Joe White 1970, photo courtesy Monument Records

White’s original and pioneering style of Americana won him a new audience during the past decade, and he recorded three critically-acclaimed albums for Yep Roc Records, including Bad Mouthin’, which was released in September 2018. Bad Mouthin’ included six original songs by White as well as a cover of the Elvis Presley hit “Heartbreak Hotel” and several blues standards including songs by Charley Patton and John Lee Hooker. The album was produced by his son, Jody White.

In a state about White’s passing, Glenn Dicker, co-founder of Yep Roc Records said, “Tony Joe White was a true American original. In everything he did he did it with his own unique voice. There was a gentle ease and flow that vibrated from the man. Always a positive vibe. We have been very fortunate to have been able to work with Tony Joe over these past few albums and years. We’re grateful for all the wonderful music…and the hangs. We love you Tony Joe!”

Rolling Stone magazine’s Tony Joe White obituary

The Long Ryders’ Two Fisted Tales box

The Long Ryders were another of those great “lost” bands of the 1980s, fellow travelers to outfits like Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Stealin’ Horses, and Jason & the Scorchers, among others, a band that never received its due in spite of a brace of innovative and entertaining albums that blended punk rock intensity with the “cosmic cowboy” roots-rock of influences like Gram Parsons, Buffalo Springfield, Bob Dylan, and the Byrds. Formed in Los Angeles in 1982, and widely labeled part of the “Paisley Underground” movement, the Long Ryders featured guitarists Sid Griffin and Stephen McCarthy, bassist Tom Stevens, and drummer Greg Sowders with vocals provided by all the band members.

The Long Ryders’ third and final album, 1987’s awesome, critically-acclaimed Two Fisted Tales, was tragically ignored by a record-buying public buying into the “nerf metal” din of less-talented bands. It remains Griffin’s favorite album by the Ryders, and in addition to great original songs like “Gunslinger Man,” “Prairie Fire,” and “Harriet Tubman’s Gonna Carry Me Home” the album also included a wonderful cover of NRBQ’s classic “I Want You Bad.”

On November 30, 2018 British archival label Cherry Red Records will reissue Two Fisted Tales as a three-CD box set. With production overseen by the band’s Tom Stevens, the set includes the re-mastered original album with three bonus tracks, a second disc of demos from the band’s archives, and a third disc featuring a memorable live show from Palm Springs.

The Two Fisted Tales box set includes a new booklet with rare, unpublished photos and memorabilia and new liner notes by Griffin. The box set precedes a brand-new Long Ryders studio album scheduled to be released in 2019 by Cherry Red in the U.K. and the good folks at Omnivore Recordings stateside. If you’re a fan of contemporary roots-rock bands like the National, American Aquarium, or Beachwood Sparks, you owe it to yourself to rediscover the Long Ryders, one of the influential and innovative pioneering bands that helped launch the Americana movement.

Check out the album on the Cherry Red website

CD Preview: John Hiatt’s The Eclipse Sessions

There’s not a heck of a lot of info floating around the ‘net on this one yet, but on October 12th, 2018 New West Records will release The Eclipse Sessions, the first studio album in four years from award-winning singer/songwriter John Hiatt.

The Eclipse Sessions offers eleven new songs by the acclaimed songwriter, and Hiatt considers the new album to be in the same vein as his 1987 commercial breakthrough, Bring the Family, and 2000’s Grammy™-nominated Crossing Muddy Waters. “The three albums are very connected in my mind,” says Hiatt in a press release for the album, “they all have a vibe to them that was unexpected. I didn’t know where I was going when I started out on any of them. And each one wound up being a pleasant surprise.”

Longtime fans will be happy that Hiatt is still pursuing his signature Americana sound, the new songs featuring the singer’s raw, imperfect, emotional vocals. “They ain’t pretty, that's for sure,” says Hiatt about the creaks and cracks that punctuate his phrases in songs like “Poor Imitation of God” and “One Stiff Breeze.” “But I don't mind a bit. All the catches and the glitches and the gruffness, that sounds right to me. That sounds like who I am.”

Songs like “Cry To Me,” the stark “Nothing In My Heart,” and the rowdy “Poor Imitation of God” display Hiatt’s enormous songwriting skills, while his rootsy guitar playing helps emphasize his poetic lyrics. An American musical treasure, John Hiatt proves with every new album that he’s getting better with age and experience.

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: John Hiatt’s The Eclipse Sessions

CD Preview: Return of the Textones!

It’s no secret ‘round these parts that the ol’ Rev is partial to ‘80s-era rockers the Textones, one of the decade’s sadly overlooked and underappreciated bands. Suffering the same unjust fate as fellow travelers Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, the Long Ryders, Green On Red, Stealin’ Horses, and the Del-Lords, the Textones made a couple of great records that went largely unnoticed by the decade’s zombified, MTV-suckling music consumers before bandleader Carla Olson launched her long-running solo career. Omnivore Recordings reissued the Textones’ two critically-acclaimed albums – 1984’s Midnight Mission and 1987’s Cedar Creek – a couple years back, which has helped reignite interest in this trailblazing band.

Although founding member Phil Seymour (former Dwight Twilley Band drummer) sadly passed away back in 1993, Olson rounded up the rest of the old gang – guitarist George Callins, multi-instrumentalist Tom Jr. Morgan, bassist Joe Read, and Cedar Creek drummer Rick Hemmert – to record a new album. On September 21st, 2018 Blue Élan Records will release Old Stone Gang, the Textones’ third official studio album and their first in over 30 years. There have been efforts to reunite the band through the years, but life (marriage, family, jobs, etc) got in the way, but a potential reunion started in 2012 when the members recorded four tracks that ended up on Old Stone Gang. Omnivore’s reissues of the band’s first two LPs probably didn’t hurt the cause, and now we old-time Textones fans have a new album to look forward to in the fall. In addition to the original band members, the album also includes guest appearances from the legendary Allan Clarke of the Hollies and Rusty Young of Poco.

After the band broke-up, Olson recorded a couple of very fine albums with rock ‘n’ roll legends Gene Clark (The Byrds) and Mick Taylor (The Rolling Stones), launching her solo career with a 1989 self-titled debut album and rolling through the ‘90s with well-received efforts like 1993’s Within An Ace and 1994’s Reap the Whirlwind. Olson’s most recent solo effort was 2013’s Have Harmony, Will Travel; but she promises some surprises on the Textones’ Old Stone Gang. In a press release for the album, she states “I think the new album is just as viable, important, and relevant as Midnight Mission and Cedar Creek. It sounds similar to what we used to do, but of course we are now older and supposedly wiser [laughs] and I like to think, a little more sage.”

Related content: The Textones’ Midnight Mission & Cedar Creek CD reviews

Celebrating 50 years of The Band’s Music from Big Pink

It’s hard to believe that a half-century has passed since the July 1st, 1968 release of the Band’s landmark debut album Music from Big Pink. It shouldn’t have been a big surprise, really, but the Bob Dylan’s former backing band shocked the world of rock ‘n’ roll out of its complacency with their original and forward-thinking hybrid of roots-rock, country, blues, and soul music.

Whereas the Beatles awed listeners a year previous with the evolutionary production technique and complex musical arrangements afforded their classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP, the Band drove in an absolutely opposite direction, stripping the music down to its bare bones and delivering a raw, emotional, and often haunting collection that drew from the roots of American music tradition.

On August 31st, 2018 Capitol Records and Universal Music will celebrate 50 years of the Band’s Music from Big Pink with a super-duper, ultra-deluxe reissue in a bunch of different formats. Newly remixed and expanded with a half-dozen “bonus” tracks in the form of alternate takes and studio outtakes, the album will be available as a single CD, double-vinyl LP, and limited edition double-LP on pink vinyl as well as a special Blu-ray disc.

All the anniversary edition reissues feature a new stereo mix created by Grammy® Award-winning producer Bob Clearmountain, who has worked on albums by Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, the Pretenders, and many others. Working from the original four-track analog master recordings, Clearmountain’s new mix brings a new clarity to the album’s sound and incorporates previously-unreleased studio chatter from the original sessions.

The album will also be released as a deluxe collectors’ box set with CD, Blu-ray, vinyl, and hardbound book. Exclusive to the box set, the Blu-ray disc features a new 5.1 surround mix by Clearmountain as well as the high-resolution (96kHz/24 bit) stereo mix. The box set also includes a reproduction of the band’s vinyl 7” single for “The Weight” b/w “I Shall Be Released” while the hardbound book features a new essay by Rolling Stone magazine scribe David Fricke alongside rare, seldom-seen photos by Elliott Landy.

The Band would go on to make a lot of classic music after Music from Big Pink, including landmark albums like 1970’s Stage Fright and the live 1972 double-album Rock of Ages. It was with their debut album, though, that the band – Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson, talented multi-instrumentalists all – would create a template for the Americana music movement and influence subsequent generations of musicians, from 1970s-era bands like the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band to early ‘00s outfits like the Drive-By Truckers, the Hold Steady, and My Morning Jacket. The Band was inducted into Canada’s Juno Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio in 1994. In 2008, the Band was honored with The Recording Academy’s “Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Music from Big Pink enjoyed modest commercial success upon its release, peaking at #30 on the Billboard magazine albums chart, but in the ensuing half-century has become considered as one of the most important and influential album’s in the history of American music. Perhaps critic Greil Marcus summed it up best in his 1975 book Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music, writing “the richness of ‘Big Pink’ is in the Band’s ability to contain endless combinations of American popular music without imitating any of them. The Band don’t refer to their sources any more than we refer to George Washington when we vote, but the connection is there.”

Buy the album from Amazon.com:
The Band’s Music from Big Pink CD
The Band’s Music from Big Pink 2-LP vinyl

CD Review: Peter Case's On The Way Downtown (2017)

Peter Case doesn’t receive anywhere near the respect he’s earned. Case, with fellow talents Jack Lee and Paul Collins, was an early punk pioneer with San Francisco-based band the Nerves, whose “Hanging On The Telephone” would later be recorded by Blondie. When the Nerves broke up, Case formed power-pop favorites the Plimsouls in ’79, the band’s song “A Million Miles Away” featured in the cult film Valley Girl and becoming a college radio staple throughout the ‘80s. By 1986, Case had launched his solo career with an engaging self-titled debut LP that earned the singer/songwriter a Grammy® nomination. In the three-decades-plus since, Case has created a solid body of work with his intelligent wordplay and unique blend of rock, folk, and blues music (i.e. what we call ‘Americana’ today...).

Case’s critically-acclaimed debut was reissued as a special 30th anniversary set with bonus tracks last year by Omnivore Recordings, who had also released his underrated Hwy 62 album in 2015. Now the label has dipped into the artist’s archives with a big net and landed On The Way Downtown, an entertaining eighteen-song collection featuring previously-unreleased performances from nearly 20 years ago. Documenting two live radio performances on the popular KPFK-FM syndicated radio program FolkScene, On The Way Downtown features a full-band performance of nine songs from Case’s 1998 album Full Service, No Waiting while the second half features material from the artist’s 2000 album Flying Saucer Blues as well as several songs from earlier releases. Both sets have remained unheard since their original radio broadcasts.

Peter Case’s On The Way Downtown

Case was backed on his 1998 performance by a full band that included some mighty skilled folks like guitarist Greg Leisz (who has also played with Dave Alvin, Joni Mitchell, and Lucinda Williams, among others), bassist Tony Marsico (The Cruzados), and percussionist Don Heffington (Lone Justice, et al). So Case is in good company here, talent that shines through wonderful songs like the haunting “Spell of Wheels,” with its exotic percussion and blazing harmonica riffs, or “On the Way Downtown,” whose loping groove is accented by Case’s melodic vocals and an odd-but-affecting guitar line.

“Crooked Mile” is fatback swamp-rocker with serpentine fretwork, rapid-fire vocals, and an undeniably menacing vibe while “See Through Eyes” is provided a more traditional folk-rock performance with emotional vocals and sparkling instrumentation that incorporates gorgeous pop melody. On the acoustic 2000 radio performance preserved by On The Way Downtown, Case is joined by violinist David Perales. The pair delivered a fine performance here that strips Case’s lyrics down to their naked emotional roots. “Something Happens” offers rich interplay between Case’s guitar and Perales’ violin that creates an exotic ambiance that allow Case’s vocals to ride on waves of ethereal sound.

An energetic cover of Mississippi John Hurt’s spry “Pay Day” plays up the ‘country’ side of country-blues with nimble fretwork and twangy vocals while “Icewater,” from Case’s debut LP, combines the songwriter’s words with the music of Texas blues legend Lightnin’ Hopkins for a twang ‘n’ bang bluesy romp with locomotive harp and fast-peddling vocals dueling with Perales’ scorching violin licks. “Beyond the Blues” is a beautifully-crafted song, Case’s lilting vocals accompanied by a weeping violin that you’d swear was a pedal-steel guitar. “Paradise Etc” displays not only Case’s guitar skills, but also his wit as a wordsmith, the song featuring one of my favorite lines in “the apocalypse is over, and I still owe rent,” the lyrics sung above an elegant guitar strum. An inspired cover of the North Carolina Ramblers’ Charlie Poole’s “Leaving Home” is provided an up-tempo arrangement with fast-moving vocals and raucous guitarplay on an obscure 1926 folkabilly rave-up.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Odds are that the faithful Peter Case fans have already snatched up a copy of On The Way Downtown, but for those on the fence, what are you waiting for? Jump down off that post and run – don’t walk – to your nearest independent record store and buy the album! On The Way Downtown places Case in a live setting where his natural talent and charisma can transcend the studio setting of most of his albums. A skilled songwriter; an effective and, at times, charming vocalist; and an underrated guitarist, On The Way Downtown provides listeners old and new alike with a fine pair of performances that represent Case’s talents at their best. Grade: A (Omnivore Recordings, released October 27, 2017)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Peter Case’s On The Way Downtown

Real Gone Music February Slate: Delaney & Bonnie, Jim Kweskin

Our friends at Real Gone Music have announced their February slate of new releases and it includes a couple of goodies for classic rock fans – Delaney & Bonnie and Friends’ Motel Shot and Jim Kweskin’s Relax Your Mind – both of which are scheduled for February 3, 2017 release by the archive label.

Delaney & Bonnie and Friends already had a pretty solid reputation by the time of the 1971 release of Motel Shot. Albums like 1969’s Home and 1970’s To Bonnie From Delaney featured an earthy proto-Americana sound that mixed Southern rock, Memphis soul, blues, and country music that few other bands were offering at the time. The talented members of Delaney & Bonnie’s band provided musicians for both Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour and Eric Clapton’s Derek and the Dominoes.

Motel Shot was the fourth studio album by Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett, the title referring to the band’s frequent ‘after hours’ jams back in the room after a show. The sessions for the album originally were held in engineer Bruce Botnick’s living room, where several songs were recorded for possible release by Elektra Records. When the deal went bad, the project moved to Atco Records, the Bramlett’s former label, which had the band re-record the material in a proper studio. It was this second version that was originally released on vinyl by the label, and the album has only ever been released on CD in 2003 in Japan.

After many hours of tape research, co-producers Bill Inglot and Pat Thomas dug up the original “living room” sessions by Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, the eight previously-unreleased tracks appearing for the first time on Real Gone’s expanded edition release of Motel Shot (almost doubling the amount of great music!). A fine collection of acoustic performances, the album features elements of gospel, folk, and R&B alongside the band’s usual roots-rock sound, and it includes “friends” like singer Joe Cocker, guitarists Duane Allman and Dave Mason, and keyboardist Leon Russell alongside band members Bobby Keys (sax), drummer Jim Keltner (drums), and Kenny Gradney (bass). Motel Shot has been re-mastered by Inglot and features an essay by Thomas that includes quotes from Bonnie Bramlett, Bobby Whitlock, Bruce Botnik, and Jac Holzman of Elektra Records.

Guitarist Jim Kweskin is one of the unsung heroes of the early ‘60s folk scene. Based in the Boston area, Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band recorded a pair of critically-acclaimed albums for Vanguard Records – 1963’s Unblushing Brassiness and 1965’s Jug Band Music – that featured talents like guitarist Geoff Muldaur, harmonica player Mel Lyman, and singer Maria Muldaur. Kweskin himself was a skilled and underrated six-string stylist, performing in the fingerpicking style of bluesmen like Blind Boy Fuller and Mississippi John Hurt.

Kweskin stepped away from the Jug Band to release a 1965 solo album, Relax Your Mind, the guitarist accompanied only by Jug Band members Lyman on harmonica and washtub bass player Fritz Richmond. A less raucous but no less inspired effort than his Jug Band recordings, Relax Your Mind delved into folk standards as well as blues, gospel, and African music with a nuanced, stripped-down sound. The album was compiled from two sessions, one an impromptu jam in the Vanguard Records studios and the rest taken from a live performance recorded at Cambridge’s Club 47 a year previous.

Lyman’s stream-of-consciousness liner notes from the original LP are included on this Real Gone Music CD reissue, which also features quotes from Kweskin himself. Relax Your Mind has been re-mastered by engineer Mike Milchner at SonicVision studios and appears on CD for the first time (as far as I can tell).

Buy the CDs from Amazon.com:
Delaney & Bonnie and Friends' Motel Shot
Jim Kweskin's Relax Your Mind

CD Review: The Rave-Ups' Town + Country (1985)

Looking at it in retrospect, the decade of the ‘80s was littered with “cult” bands – rockers like Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, the Long Ryders, Stealin’ Horses, Dream Syndicate, Green On Red, et al – that were eclipsed first by “new wave” poseurs and then by nerf-metal bands of lesser artistic stature like Poison and Ratt. Add the Rave-Ups to that long list, a talented outfit that, while enjoying the smallest taste of success, nevertheless failed to make the light-years leap towards mainstream chart success.

Originally formed in 1979 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jimmer Podrasky, the first incarnation of the Rave-Ups made a name for themselves in the Steel City before heading to Los Angeles in search of fame and fortune. They subsequently floated back and forth between L.A. and Pittsburgh, eventually breaking up. Undaunted, Podrasky returned to the West Coast and formed the second version of the Rave-Ups with drummer Tim Jimenez. After changing members several times, the Rave-Ups settled on a line-up of Podrasky and Jimenez with guitarist Chuck Wada and bassist Douglas Leonard, this version of the band signing with Fun Stuff Records and releasing the six-song EP Class Tramp in 1983.

The Rave-Ups’ Town + Country

A year later, Wada and Leonard were out and guitarist Terry Wilson and bassist Tommy Blatnik were in – this is the Rave-Ups that most fans of the band remember. The band released their full-length debut Town + Country for Fun Stuff in 1985, the album yielding a college radio hit with the song “Positively Lost Me.” The album earned almost universal acclaim, making fans of such hard-boiled critics as Robert Christgau, Robert Hilburn, and J.D. Considine, among others, and landing the Rave-Ups an appearance in the 1986 John Hughes film Pretty In Pink (Podrasky was dating the sister of the film’s star, Molly Ringwald). Naturally, the major labels came sniffing around, and after enduring a couple years of legal hassles, the Rave-Ups signed with Epic Records, recording two albums for the label – 1987’s The Book of Your Regrets and 1989’s Hamlet Meets John Doe – both of which failed to sell due to label indifference and lack of promotion, and the band subsequently broke up in 1992.

Revisited by archive specialists Omnivore Recordings, the long-awaited 30th anniversary CD reissue of the Rave-Ups’ Town + Country album is a revelation, any fond but ancient memories you may have of the band falling short of the reality pouring from one’s speakers. A whip-smart hybrid of rootsy rock ‘n’ roll that we now know as “Americana,” Town + Country displays the Rave-Ups at their best as songwriters and performers. The album opens with the college radio hit “Positively Lost Me.” The song is a sly lil’ slice of sleight-of-hand with off-balance instrumentation and hypnotic, emotional vocals that betray the swaggering, self-effacing lyrics; the song’s protagonist keeps upping the ante on what his love lost, from inconsequential material tokens to his very heart and soul. Accompanied by yelping rhythms and lean fretwork, the band offers up a different perspective on the clichéd love song.

Better World

The Rave-Ups were a lot more than just “Positively Lost Me,” although that song would become their calling card to bigger things. “Better World” is a perfect example of the band’s immense chemistry and Podrasky’s underrated skills as a wordsmith. With sparse but textured instrumentation, the singer’s subdued vocals float atop a nuanced soundtrack that serves to highlight the despair found in the lyrics. The band’s early tune “Class Tramp” is afforded a rich, albeit low-key arrangement, Podrasky’s strident vocals piercing the darkness until the band kicks in with its rollicking honky-tonk stroll. Pedal steel guitar legend “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow adds some tasty steel to the somber “Radio” but it’s the band that moves the needle with a striking performance that includes James Burton-styled shivering guitar and a languid rhythm that helps create an unsettling ambiance.

While many of the Rave-Ups’ songs are mid-to-slow tempo, the rockabilly ratchet “In My Gremlin” offers up some liver-quivering cheap thrills with scorching fretwork, a swinging rhythm, and era-appropriate echoed vocals. A cover of Bob Dylan’s obscure 1960s track “You Ain’t Goin Nowhere” is played with reckless abandon but no little reverence, while the album-closing “Rave-Up/Shut-Up” is an unbridled rocker with a 1950s vibe (think Carl Perkins) and ‘80s-era roots-rock sensibilities. This 30th anniversary edition of Town + Country offers a wealth of bonus tracks – eleven in total – including a lo-fi demo cover of Pete Seeger’s “If I Had A Hammer” that captures the anarchic energy of the original while a live performance of the Merle Travis classic “Nine Pound Hammer” infuses the hillbilly classic with a bit of blue collar blues amidst the twang. An early version of “Mickey of Alphabet City,” later recorded for the band’s major label debut, is nearly fully-formed as it stands, a magnificent story-song with elegant guitar and a fine vocal performance.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

At their core, the Rave-Ups were a modern country-rock band that was a decade or a decade-and-a-half ahead of their time. Although critics too frequently toss the Rave-Ups into the box labeled “cowpunk” along with Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, the Beat Farmers, or Rank and File, I personally don’t hear it. The Rave-Ups could and did play upbeat material, but they lacked the inherent rowdiness of the aforementioned bands.

Instead, I look at the Rave-Ups, artistically, as falling more along the lines of contemporaries like Lone Justice or Nashville’s underrated Raging Fire – a talented, visionary group that detoured off the Lost Highway to explore new turf, taking the country-rock lessons of the Byrds and the Burritos to heart while forging their own unique, cerebral, and entirely mesmerizing sound. Town + Country is a primo slice of American music, the Rave-Ups a band worth your time to rediscover. Grade: B+ (Omnivore Recordings, released July 8, 2016)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: The Rave-Ups’ Town + Country

Album Review: Jimbo Mathus' Band of Storms (2016)

Roots ‘n’ blues artist Jimbo Mathus has certain stayed busy the last few years. Befitting his heightened status as an Americana icon, the talented journeyman has released five solo albums in as many years, including last year’s excellent Blue Healer. Mathus teamed up with his British counterpart Ian Siegal for a 2014 U.K. tour which resulted in the Wayward Sons live album, released earlier this year. And now, courtesy of the good folks at Big Legal Mess and Fat Possum Records, we have Band of Storms, a nine-song Mathus EP that’s available exclusively on glorious black vinyl and as a digital download.

The cover artwork of Band of Storms is by Erika Jane Amerika, the artist capturing the vibe of these songs with her portrait of Mathus standing in a cypress swamp – guitar in one hand and a fiery bible in the other – with an alligator at his feet alongside his Catahoula dog and a snake-handling Yemayá (the “great mother” of Santeria religion). The outsider folk cover artwork of Band of Storms accurately portrays the themes of Jimbo’s songs; musically, clocking in at around 23 minutes, Band of Storms offers Mathus’ typical inspired mix of roots-rock, blues, R&B, honky-tonk country, and outré Americana.

Jimbo Mathus’ Band of Storms

The party kicks off with the strong “Gringo Man,” a lowdown, funky romp with blazing horns courtesy of saxophonist Jim Spake and trumpeter Stu Cole. The song’s boogie-flavored rhythms flow around Mathus’ vocals, providing a swaying backdrop for his thin, piercing guitar licks. The New Orleans blues of “Can’t Get Much Higher” draw upon the legendary Professor Longhair for inspiration, Eric Carlton’s jazzy piano stomp providing a fine counterpoint to Mathus’ twangy, patois-strewn vocals, which would sound right at home blaring from a Bourbon Street juke.

The country-flavored “Play With Fire,” co-written by Mathus with his late friend Robert Earl Reed, is one magnificent bastard of a song. Mathus’ somber, low-register vocals remind of the great Johnny Cash, the song’s brilliant lyrical imagery heightened by the singer’s passion in delivering this sparse tale of “devil may care,” living life to the fullest. The song’s sparse instrumentation is just enough to drive the spike home. Slowing down the pace even further, Mathus’ “Stop Your Crying” is a wayward hybrid of Dylan, the Band, Robert Johnson, and a hundred years of American music. A classic old-school murder ballad with centuries old roots, the song offers slow-burning, Tom Petty-styled vocals with swelling cascades of harmony and dense instrumentation.

Mass of Confusion

A ramshackle sonic assault, “Massive Confusion” is a greasy garage-blues rave-up with a sly nod towards 1960s’ psychedelic rock, the song roaring through your speakers like a freight train rattling down the tracks with double-tap drumbeats and scraped guitar strings that create a head-shaking miasma of sound. “Wayward Wind” is as close to an authentic modern ballad as Mathus gets on Band of Storms, the tune a tumbleweed-strewn lament with gritty, sandpaper vocals and anguished lyrics that come across as more earnest and sincere than one might believe at first blush. The instrumentation displays a slight Celtic influence, and Mathus’ elegantly-wasted fretwork stirs up memories of James Burton’s taut, wiry Telecaster tones.

The sunburned, Delta-flavored “Slow Down Sun” is a deceptively bluesy track, with Mathus’ languid, drawled vocals matched by resonant, rattletrap acoustic git licks and subtle percussion; the sizzling, slow-tempo performance isn’t so much a ballad as a slippery reflection caught in swamp water. The cockeyed and more than a little fractured “Keep It Together” is pure poetry set to clamorous but effective instrumentation with scraps of lovely guitar rising above the fray. Closing the EP, “Catahoula” is a real shit-kicker, with wired finger-pickin’, spry instrumentation, yelped vocals, and at least partially nonsensical lyrics that are delivered with all the brittle energy and unbridled enthusiasm of a 1920s-era jug band, i.e. some real ‘poop-puntin’ music,’ as me dear ol’ grandpappy used to say!

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Jimbo Mathus seldom disappoints, and Band of Storms hits all the right notes in its ambitious and masterful exploration of American music forms. Although a bit on the short side – more Jimbo is always better – these songs were built for vinyl, and the EP delivers traditionalist sounds with a contemporary edginess. Kudos to Jimbo Mathus and his crew for another mighty fine record. Grade: A (Big Legal Mess Records, released May 6, 2016)

Buy the EP from Amazon.com: Jimbo Mathus' Band of Storms

CD Preview: Jimbo Mathus’ Band of Storms

You just never know where Jimbo Mathus’ restless muse is going to take him, so every new recording from the talented Mississippi native is an adventure. On May 6th, 2016, Mathus fans can ride the roller-coaster when Big Legal Mess, via Fat Possum Records, releases the nine-song EP Band of Storms.

Characterized by Mathus in a press release for the new record as “just some offs and ends…you know, folk music,” Band of Storms is said to feature an inspired mix of garage-rock, blues, honky-tonk, R&B, and other American music forms. “It’s just a continuation of the work I’ve been doing for, shoot, the past 20 years,” Mathus says. “There’s no big overall, arching thing. It’s just random notes out of my brain.”

The EP’s cover art is by Erika Jane Amerika, the artist capturing the vibe of the songs with her portrait of Mathus standing in a cypress swamp with a guitar in one hand and a fiery bible in the other, with an alligator at his feet alongside his Catahoula dog and a snake-handling Yemayá (the “great mother” of Santeria religion). The folksy cover art of Band of Storms accurately portrays the theme of Mathus’ songs, of which he says “it’s dealing with nature – forces beyond us – and trying to sum it up in my little cave paintings that we call recorded songs.”
   
Band of Storms was recorded at Dial Back Sound, the Water Valley, Mississippi studio owned by Fat Possum Records partner Bruce Watson. Mathus records at the studio frequently, and he’s joined on the EP by a talented group of multi-instrumentalist musicians like Ryan Rogers, Eric Carlton, Will McCarley, Jim Spake, and Stu Cole, among others, who helped create what Mathus calls a “primal Southern groove.” Eight of the nine songs were written by Mathus, with “Play With Fire” co-written with Mathus’ late friend Robert Earl Reed.

The songs on Band of Storms range from the garage-rockin’ “Massive Confusion,” an homage to bands like the Ramones and the Replacements, where Mathus notes the unlikely rhyming of “Yemayá” with “FBI,” and odd pairing to be sure. “I wrote it when I was getting audited by the IRS and I was trying to save my fuckin’ ass,” says Mathus. “It’s just super-punk rock. I came up in the ’80s and the Replacements turned me on to songwriting. They showed me that I could actually write songs. I’m 48, but I’m still a punk rocker.” Other songs on the EP include the bluesy “Can’t Get Much Higher,” the twangy Southern Gothic “Stop Your Crying,” and the Celtic-inspired “Wayward Wind.”

Jimbo Mathus never disappoints, so circle May 6th on your calendar and get ready to part with some coin for a copy of Band of Storms, nine brand new songs by one of Americana’s most imaginative and exciting artists.

Archive Review: Webb Wilder's It Came From Nashville (2006)

Brothers and sisters, I want to share the good word about Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks and their magnificent debut It Came From Nashville! This will make the third time since 1987 that the Reverend has reviewed this particular album. Not surprisingly, in a corporate music world dominated by airheaded, lip-syncing Barbie dolls and angry male fashion models with out-of-tune guitars, It Came From Nashville holds up remarkably well. In fact, much like fine wine, this version – the album's third incarnation (vinyl, CD w/bonus tracks, CD w/more bonus tracks) – has only gotten better with age.

For you poor souls who have never experienced the greatness of the man known to legions as "WW," this is where it all began, a humble introduction to a Wilder world. Roaring into the Music City like a drunken tornado sometime during the mid-80s, WW quickly assembled a top-notch musical hit squad, a finely-tuned machine of rock 'n' roll salvation helmed by the man behind the throne, Bobby Field. Although a vinyl recording is a poor substitute for the magnificence that is WW in person, It Came From Nashville did a pretty doggoned good job of capturing the spirit – the zeitgeist, if you will – of the man from Mississippi. Wilder, Fields and crew masterfully mixed roots-rock, country, and blues with elements of psychdelica, swamp rock and surf music. Imagine Hank Williams, Robert Johnson and Screamin' Jay Hawkins sharing a beer at the crossroads in a midnight jam session and you'd come close to the sound of It Came From Nashville.

Friends, Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks hit Nashville like a double-shot of whiskey with a six-pack chaser. Along with Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, WW and his posse allowed a bunch of cornpone punk rockers to break loose and embrace the reckless country soul of their ancestors. After eighteen years, the songs on It Came From Nashville still rock like a house afire! From "How Long Can She Last," Field's ode to youthful indiscretion, to the original album-closing instrumental rave-up "Ruff Rider," these songs are muscular, electric and 100% high-octane rock 'n' roll. An inspired cover of Steve Earle's "Devil's Right Hand" showcases both Wilder's sense of humor and his deep, friendly baritone in this tragic tale. "One Taste Of The Bait" speaks of the dangers of love while "Is This All There Is?" is a kiss-off to failed romance on par with Dylan's "Positively 4th Street."

The original CD reissue bonus tracks are included here, a motley bunch of spirited covers that illustrate Wilder's range and tastes. From a raucous rendition of Johnny Cash's "Rock 'n Roll Ruby" to a swinging reading of Steve Forbert's "Samson And Delilah's Beauty Shop," these are all keepers. Fields' instrumental "Cactus Planet" provides a rollicking good time while "Dance For Daddy" is a down-and-dirty, leering rocker with scrappy guitarwork. The six new live tracks included here were culled from a vintage 1986 Nashville performance at the world-famous Exit/Inn and include rarities like the rockabilly-flavored "Hole In My Pocket" and an early version of fan favorite "Rocket To Nowhere."

If It Came From Nashville introduced the world to its rock 'n' roll savior, the album also marked Bobby Field's emergence as a songwriter of some skill and knowledge. These songs have held up so well over time because they are rooted in the deep tradition of rock, blues and country that was forged by pioneers like Elvis, Hank and Chuck. Unfortunately, the world has turned so much that these men have mostly been lost in the haze of pre-fab pop stars and soft drink advertising. Even a prophet like WW is without honor in his own country, although a loyal cult of followers continues to keep the flame burning. Rescued from the abyss of obscurity, It Came From Nashville is an important document of a time when giants roamed this planet and men were unashamed to follow the Webb Wilder Credo:

"Word hard…rock hard…eat hard…sleep hard…grow big…wear glasses if you need 'em."

Amen...

# # #

Review republished from the Reverend's The Other Side of Nashville book

Related content: Webb Wilder - Mississippi Mōderne CD review

CD Review: Webb Wilder's Mississippi Mōderne (2015)

It’s been nearly 30 years since Americana legend Webb Wilder released It Came From Nashville, the singer’s rowdy debut, thereby staking his claim alongside such ground-breaking Music City bands as Jason & the Scorchers, the Questionnaires, and Tim Krekel and the Sluggers, among others, as one of the best and brightest the city had to offer from the rough ‘n’ tumble Nashville rock underground of the 1980s. A brief flirtation with major label success resulted in a pair of excellent and influential albums – Hybrid Vigor and Doo Dad – but over the past decade or so, Wilder has recorded and toured sporadically.

Wilder released a couple of fine albums with roots ‘n’ blues label Blind Pig Records in 2008 and ’09, but he has returns to the sympathetic, Southern roots-rock imprint Landslide Records for Mississippi Mōderne. Wilder’s first new studio album in almost six years, and his first for Landslide since 2005’s excellent and tragically-overlooked About Time LP, he’s is backed on Mississippi Mōderne by his band the Beatnecks, comprised of longtime compatriots Tom Comet on bass and Jimmy Lester on drums, with guitarist Bob Williams and guests like guitarists George Bradfute and Joe V. McMahan. 

Webb Wilder’s Mississippi Mōderne

Wilder’s unique brew of roots-rock has always offered a fine balance between twang and bang, a blend of classic country and British Invasion influences with more than a soupçon of blues thrown in for flavor. You’ll find little different in the grooves of Mississippi Mōderne. It’s a familiar formula, and one that Wilder has always done well with, which is not to say that there’s anything formulaic with these white-hot new tunes – just the mad scientist that is Webb Wilder finding a new way to mix the same old elements into a new sonic gumbo.

The album is introduced by the haunting, Delta blues-styled “Stones In My Pathway,” a Robert Johnson influenced black cat moan that sets the stage for what follows. Wilder’s original “Rough and Tumble Guy” is a typical rocker from the “Last of the Full Grown Men,” the song long on twangy guitars, rollicking rhythms, and sly, boastful lyrics that would sound exaggerated coming from anybody other than the ever-humble WW. Honestly, how can you dislike a line like “I’ve been to hell and back again, brought back some bar-b-que for my friends,” which is surrounded by crashing drumbeats and piercing guitar licks?

Too Much Sugar For A Nickel

Where Wilder really shines is with his heartfelt love songs, of which Mississippi Mōderne has more than a few. “Only A Fool,” a Wilder co-write with Memphis soul legend Dan Penn, is one such example, a mid-tempo rocker that pours hot coals on the lyrical protagonist’s already-raw emotions. Wilder conveys heartbreak and misery with the bruised dignity of country great George Jones; even though his vocals express a winsome hopefulness, the tears are never far beneath the surface. A cover of the Conway Twitty deep track “Lonely Blue Boy” covers much the same thematic ground, albeit with crunchier guitars than the long-gone original, and a lurking rhythm that shadows all but Wilder’s deep baritone vocals. Whereas Conway was trying to sound like Elvis Presley, Wilder sounds more like Carl Perkins, re-making the song in his own indomitable manner.

Wilder’s “Too Much Sugar For A Nickel” is one of my two faves on Mississippi Mōderne, the sort of smooth-sounding, throwback roots-rocker with clever lyrics that has become a sort of signature for the singer. The title is a reference to any deal that’s too good to be true, and the love triangle Webb croons about here is provided a gentle but firm country-flavored soundtrack with shimmering guitars and steady drumbeats. In a similar vein, long-time Wilder friend and former producer R.S. Field contributes my second favorite song here, “I’m Not Just Anybody’s Fool,” which sounds not unlike some of Threk Michaels’ best-written ballads. Field is a scholar of old-school rock and country music and straddles the fine line between both here, Wilder’s voice is tailor-made for the song’s filigree lyrics, delivering the lovelorn plea with grace and elegance above some equally impressive fretwork.

Stones In My Pathway

It’s taken me a while to warm up to the blustery “Yard Dog,” and not just because of its psychobilly edge, Wilder’s studio-echoed vox, or the too-precious lyrics. The song’s swagger is built from chaotic guitar licks, machinegun drumbeats, and overall smothering instrumentation and kudzu-thick production that will have you suffering from claustrophobia before the end of the song. Showcasing his blues chops, Wilder takes on Chicago blues legend Otis Rush’s obscure “It Takes Time” (from Rush’s classic Mourning In The Morning LP). Scorching guitar licks open the track before Wilder’s larger-than-life voice jumps in headfirst. Wilder and the Beatnecks capture the spirit of Rush’s original, but pump it up on steroids with finger-blistering fretwork, a hale and hearty bass line, and big beat drums. Wilder walks even farther onto blues turf with an inspired cover of the great Jimmy Reed’s “I’m Gonna Get My Baby,” the band building an unassailable wall of sound atop of which Wilder’s studio-altered vocals are blasting alongside otherworldly guitars.

There are a lot of romantic ‘fools’ to be found on Mississippi Mōderne – we’ve heard “Only A Fool” and “I’m Not Just Anybody’s Fool” already, and Wilder pulls off a trifecta with an astounding cover of country great Charlie Rich’s “Who Will The Next Fool Be?” With a low-key instrumental arrangement that features a heavy dose of guest Micah Hulscher’s jazz-flecked, honky-tonk piano, Webb belts out an emotional take on the country classic. Mississippi Mōderne closes out with a full-length “Stones In My Pathway,” Wilder’s eerie voice altered to sound as if it’s emerging from an ancient 78rpm slab o’ sandpapered shellac. The song’s upbeat tempo and church revival fervor perfectly captures a Delta blues vibe, and it could just as easily be Charlie Patton tearing the roof off this juke-joint as WW.  

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

I don’t believe that Webb Wilder has every made a bad record – only good and great – and the Rev has heard every single one of ‘em! Still, Mississippi Mōderne is, perhaps, the best album Wilder’s made since It Came From Nashville. In the hands of a lesser artist, this ramshackle mix of garage-rock, blues, and old-school country music would sink like an over-inflated soufflé, and the album’s often over-the-top lyrics would lack in sincerity coming from a singer without Wilder’s charismatic personality. Backed by the grizzled veterans that comprise the Beatnecks, though, Wilder delivers a powerful and entertaining collection in Mississippi Mōderne. Grade: A+ (Landslide Records, released September 25, 2015)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Webb Wilder's Mississippi Mōderne

Webb Wilder goes “Mississippi Moderne”

On September 25th, 2015, Landslide Records will release Mississippi Moderne, the first album in almost six years from Nashville roots-rock legend Webb Wilder. Before he landed in the Music City back in the mid 1980s, Wilder hailed from Mississippi, and he was honored with induction into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame in 2011.

Mississippi Moderne was recorded at Studio 19 in Nashville (formerly known as Scotty Moore’s Music City Recorders), and produced by Wilder, Joe McMahan, Bob Williams, and Tom Comet. The roots ‘n’ blues veteran was backed on the recording by his longtime, road-tested band the Beatnecks, consisting of bassist Comet, guitarist Bob Williams, and drummer Jimmy Lester.

Mississippi Moderne features a mix of Wilder originals and co-writes with folks like Dan Penn, John Hadley, and Patrick Sweany, as well as covers of songs by Otis Rush, the Kinks, Charlie Rich, and Jimmy Reed. Wilder and the Beatnecks will be touring in support of the new album, and we have the first scheduled tour dates listed below. If you haven’t experienced Wilder’s unique blend of rock ‘n’ roll, blues, country, and R&B before, you owe it to yourself to check out Mississippi Moderne and then get to a show.

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Webb Wilder's Mississippi Moderne

Webb Wilder & the Beatnecks tour dates:

8/29 @ Woodhouse Concerts, St. Louis MO
8/30 @ Lafayette's Music Room, Memphis TN
9/25 @ The Basement East, Nashville TN
9/29 @ Cypress Moon Studios, Sheffield AL
10/3 @ Public Theatre of Kentucky, Bowling Green KY
10/8 @ Thacker Mountain Radio, Oxford MS *
10/9 @ Proud Larry's, Oxford MS
10/17 @ Log House Concerts, Edwardsville IL *
10/23 @ Straight To Ale, Huntsville AL *
10/28 @ Gene's Beer Garden, Morgantown WV *
10/29 @ World Cafe Live, Philadelphia PA +
10/30 @ Ram's Head Tavern, Annapolis MD +
10/31 @ The Birchmere, Alexandria VA +
11/14 @ Exit/In, Nashville TN
11/21 @ Knuckleheads, Kansas City MO

* Solo show
+ Opens for Dave & Phil Alvin