New in the iPod – Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women
Sep 27, 2009 Alt. Country/Country discussion
The book on Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women is that, as a live band, they rock the house. Flat out, rip it up, burn down the house – pick your expression. And why wouldn’t they – the group that has been assembled contains some of the finest female players around. There’s Cindy Cashdollar, a Dobro and steel guitarist who has shared the stage with everyone from Asleep at the Wheel and Marcia Ball to Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams. Add a bit of Sarah Brown, a Bass player who has played with Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Billy Bragg and Bill Kirchen. Toss in a guest appearance by Laurie Lewis, Fiddle, mandolin and twice named International Bluegrass Music Association vocalist of the Year. Now how about a touch of former Kate Wolf Guitarist Nina Gerber? Add a guest appearance by Amy Farris, Violin player that has played with Ray Price, Brian Wilson, Alejandro Escovedo and Kelly Willis in addition to her solo work. A touch of Christy McWilson from Seattle’s The Picketts on lead and harmony vocals anyone? Fill it out with Lisa Pankratz as drummer, who started out with legendary rockabilly Ronnie Dawson and went on to tour with The Derailers, Deke Dickerson, Hays Carll and many more. Should be an amazing CD – right?
In some ways it indeed is. The recording provides a pleasant listen, but winds up being rather unremarkable when all is said and done. Alvin starts the album off with a nice remake of Marie Marie from the Blasters days – not a barnburner but certainly a good treatment. California’s Burnin’ gets the groove going for the rockers and keeps with his theme of inclusion of his home state in his tales. Downey Girl begins the baritone crooner pattern, followed shortly thereafter by Anyway and These Times We’re Living In. Alvin is always convincing in this mode. The songs are pleasant enough, if unremarkable, but not as powerful as the similar tunes on King of California. Weight of the World turns over the vocals to the Guilty Women, with an old time mountain feel. The mountain theme is repeated later in the disc with Potters field – which brings some awesome harmony patterns reminiscent of the “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” soundtrack. Boss of the Blues is a swing tune that sounds like it would be a rippin live song, but doesn’t translate that energy to the recording – despite some absolutely amazing fiddle breaks! The Disc ends with an extended version of Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep, closing with, of all things, a raved up version of Que Sera Sera!
Alvin takes a journey that seems to be influenced by the loss of longtime band mate in the Guilty Men Chris Gaffney to liver cancer. Alvin is alternatively contemplative, reflective, playful and soulful. The highlight of the disc is the Dobro, which at times is absolutely stunning without any of the unnecessary speed tricks that tend to dominate many Dobro players repertoires. There are also moments of fiddle work that are simply amazing. Some of the vocal tosses and harmonies sound like they’d be better suited to a live show than recorded however. This is especially true when he’s in baritone mode – sometimes things get a bit muddy. Probably the biggest gripe I have is that this seems to be part Dave Alvin, part the Guilty Women, but not necessarily a coherent melding of the two. The album is a solid offering and a good addition for any fan of the genre, but I’m waiting for Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women to visit Central New York so I can see em live!
New in the iPod – The Bottle Rockets: Lean Forward
Sep 5, 2009 Alt. Country/Country discussion
The Bottle Rockets come out of Festus, Missouri and ride the rock and roll rails through middle American roots rock. Fronted by Brian Henneman, the band puts out a gutsy guitar based album with Lean Forward. Henneman first hit the alt. country scene with Chicken Truck in 1985. The band resisted the call for covers, preferring to rave up their own brand of roots rock. When the band folded Henneman signed on as a roadie for Uncle Tupelo, playing on one of their albums, until the birth of the Bottle Rockets.
This album marks the return of producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, who produced 1994′s The Brooklyn Side and 1997′s 24 Hours a Day. It turns back to a sparser, less fuzzy version of the Rockets. Not that the album doesn’t rock – it does. There are plenty of crunchy guitar road songs such as “The Long Way” and “Nothing but a Driver”, but there are also sparser rockers though, such as “Shame on Me”. Arguably the most memorable tune on the album is ‘The Kid Next Door” – the tale of watching a kid grow up and go off to war to never return. It’s a haunting tune with a repetitive hook that sticks with you and keeps coming back into your consciousness when the album is no longer playing. All in all, Lean Forward is a great next offering from one of the best roots rock outfits around.
Personnel: Brian Henneman (vocals, guitar, dobro, electric sitar); Eric Ambel (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Joe Flood (vocals, fiddle); Rob Arthur (piano, organ); Mark Spencer (electric piano); Jim Duffy (organ); Mark Ortmann (drums, percussion); Sammy Merendino (percussion).