First impressions; sometimes you can stake your life on them and sometimes… Well, this was one of those. The opening song, “Let’s Go Back in Time, Man”, screamed out ‘Rockabilly Revival – again’, and we’ve all seen too many of those built around mediocre pop bands. But the album’s twelve songs long, so let’s not be too hasty. Guess what? By the second song I’d admitted to being a bit premature and by the end of the album, the message had hit home; the title of the first song’s ironic and this is about viewing a mid-twentieth century musical phenomenon through a twenty-first century lens. Forget the revival, this is how Rob’s rockabilly rolls in 2019.
Now, with the best will in the world, some of the original UK rockabilly bands were characterised more by enthusiasm than expertise; that’s definitely not the case with Rob Heron and the Tea Pad Orchestra. These people can play and what they are is much, much more than a skiffle band with better gear. And maybe rockabilly isn’t really a wide enough description for the scope of their work. Just look at all the incongruous elements.
The second song, “There’s a Hole Where my Pocket Used to Be” combines a Spaghetti Western ambience and choral refrain with a Theremin and a clever lyric built around the number six. Don’t look for too many predictable where Rob Heron’s concerned. Song number three, “Life is a Drag”, combines lyrics about the joys of cross-dressing with a jazz arrangement, an accordion solo and lead guitar that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Les Paul record. And so it goes on – “Une Bouteille de Beaujolais” evokes a Paris café with an accordion solo, a gypsy Django feel and wine references. You wouldn’t find either of those two songs in a Crazy Cavan set.
That’s not the end of the invention by a long way. “Fool Talkin’ Man” has a Gallic Jacques Brel feel with some atonal touches creating a slightly menacing feel while the title song has the feel of a seventies American TV theme married to a lyric about unwanted gentrification in our cities. And even if the album’s closer, “Double Meaning, Double Entendre”, is based on a fairly thin premise, it’s still good fun and there’s always a place for that. Give it a listen; even better, go out and watch them on their upcoming tour.
“Soul of My City” is released on Tea Pad Recordings (TPCD006) on Friday February 1st, 2019.
A few words about MusicRiot before we get underway. You won’t find any negative reviews here. There’s way too much negativity everywhere around us; why add to that? We pick music that we like, live or recorded and we tell you about it; nice and simple. Well, it is most of the time, until you bump up against an album like “Trouble Holding Back”. It’s Helen Rose’s debut album, it’s a labour of love and she’s poured a lot of herself into it. Which brings us back to negativity and how we try to avoid it.
There are some truly outstanding songs on this album but (and here’s my subjectivity cop-out kicking in) there are a couple that I just don’t get. I’m not dwelling on them, but I can’t see the need for another cover of “When the Levee Breaks” and the title track, to my ears, is an over-cooked glam rock stomper. So let’s look at the positives.
The album’s second song “Flatlands of North Dakota” is a little classic, combining echoes of Bobbie Gentry with sweeping string arrangements and a nod in the direction of Roy Budd’s “Get Carter” theme. Match that up with a message about mothers doing what they have to do to bring up a family and you have a great song. “Mississippi Moon” is subtle, lush and atmospheric with a tasteful close-miked sax solo and not too many frills and “Oh Glory Be” is a full-on rock ‘n’ soul production with a horn section and a call and response gospel refrain. And let’s not forget the beautiful stripped-back version of Steve Earle’s powerful indictment of strip-mining, “The Mountain”. There’s more than enough good material here to make this well worth listening to.
“Trouble Holding Back” is released on Friday January 25th 2019 on Monkey Room Music (MRM 0008).
Time flies. It’s over three years since we reviewed the last Sam Lewis album “Waiting on You”. Well, he picked up the opening slot on Chris Stapleton’s ‘Traveler’ album tour, which is a long way from the last time we saw him in the basement at Green Note. He’s moved on a bit in terms of his songwriting as well. The voice is as good as ever and, like the arrangements and stylings, it’s in that confluence where the rivers of blues, soul and country meet. It’s quite a voice; for those of a certain age, if you take a touch of rawness away from Frankie Miller, you’re getting somewhere close.
Events in the outside world have had their impact on Sam’s songs (as they have on many other American songwriters during that time) and there’s a move away from the personal in the lyrics towards an exploration life in America in the Trumpton era. It’s certainly darker than his previous work and definitely in tune with the zeitgeist. And there are some great tunes as well.
There’s a theme running through the album of moving from or towards something, but it goes a little further than that. “Great Ideas” references the management theory of disruption as a means of progress and, despite the darker mood of the album, there’s a huge amount of positivity as well. The message of “Do It” is to spread the love around, while the title track is about the idea that unity and diversity can happily co-exist, even today.
Looking at the whole thing, the album is gorgeous. Sam’s voice is as smooth and seductive as ever and the arrangements are perfect, serving the song without ever becoming too showy or obtrusive. The closest we get to a showy guitar solo is on “The Only One”, and even that’s very tasteful, and definitely not ostentatious. Standouts; it’s all very, very good and bears repeated listening, but I think it has to be the title song “Loversity” which stacks the two guitars prevalent throughout the album up against horns and huge choral backing vocals over a Stax-style groove; what more could you want?
“Loversity” is released in the UK on Loversity Records on Friday January 18th.
Meanwhile, feast your eyes and ears on this:
Welcome to 2019. Here’s the first album review of the year for you.
Listening to Gordie Tentrees’ studio output, it always struck me that there was something missing; I couldn’t quite commit to the albums. It appears that many fans of Gordie and Jaxon Haldane’s live shows thought the same, repeatedly asking for an album that was more representative of the live experience. The result was “Grit”, recorded over five separate gigs in five different venues and it’s fair to say I’m convinced now. The press release warns that ‘All songs contain GRIT. The essential ingredient to overcoming adversity’, or, alternatively, the difference between an oyster and a pearl.
The pair function as writing collaborators as well as duo performers, with a couple of their co-writes, “Grit” and “Junior” featuring on the album in addition to a brace of Tentrees/Fred Eaglesmith songs and a number of Gordie Tentrees solo efforts.
The most astonishing aspect of “Grit” is the variety. The variety of instruments featured (ten between the two players, including the musical saw) and the variety and breadth of the songwriting, which ranges from the social satire of “Craft Beards and Man Buns”, dispensing fashion victim advice to the younger generation, to the moving (but still humorous) account of Gordie’s marriage. There are also a couple of sideswipes at some of the characters that travelling musicians meet along the way. “Sideman Blues” takes aim fair and square at songwriters who are propped up on the road by sidemen who receive little or no credit and not much more reward and, incidentally features some phenomenal playing from both Gordie and Jaxon.
And my favourite song? It’s a two-way choice between the aforementioned “Lost” and the profoundly moving and ultimately uplifting road burn-out song “Junior”. Either one works for me.
It’s a pretty good start to 2019. It’s an album that captures Gordie and Jaxon doing what they do best; performing. They cover all bases instrumentally, melodically and lyrically and do it with a great sense of joy.
“Grit” is released on Friday January 11, 2019 on Greywood Records.
You can find out for yourself how good they are at any of these UK tour dates:
JANUARY
| Wed 30
Thu 31 |
London
South Molton, nr. Barnstaple |
What’s Cookin’@ Leytonstone Ex-Servicemens Club
The Plough Hotel |
| FEBRUARY
Fri 1 |
Wellington, nr. Taunton |
The Beambridge Inn |
| Sat 2 | Worth Matravers, nr. Swanage | The Square & Compass |
| Sun 3 | Worth Matravers, nr. Swanage | The Square & Compass NB. Matinee Show |
| Mon 4 | Brighton | The Greys |
| Tue 5 | Bangor, North Wales | Blue Sky Café |
| Wed 6 | Southport | Grateful Fred’s at The Atkinson |
| Thu 7 | Stroud | The Subscription Rooms |
| Fri 8 | East Barsham , Norfolk | The Moonshine Club, East Barsham Village Hall |
| Sat 9 | York | House Concerts York |
| Sun 10 | Coldingham, Scottish Borders | Coldingham Village Hall |
| Mon 11 | Glasgow | The Doublet |
| Tue 12 | Dundee | Gardyne Theatre |
| Wed 13 | Kelso, Scottish Borders | The Tipsy Ghillie |
| Thu 14 | Edinburgh | The Bluebird Cafe |
| Fri 15 | Alford, Aberdeenshire | Piggery-Smokery |
| Sat 16 | Aberdeen | The Blue Lamp |
| Sun 17 | Biggar, South Lanarkshire | The Wee Gig, Arcadia Music Cafe |
