Big Tobacco & The Pickers - Big Tobacco & The Pickers

Big Tobacco & The Pickers - Big Tobacco & The Pickers

2010, Big Tobacco & The Pickers

Big Tobacco & The Pickers are a Southern Ontario-based sextet that blends the outlaw country of Johnny, Merle, Waylon and Willie with the folk/rock sensibilities of The Band and occasionally the offbeat feel of Luther Wright & The Wrongs.  Songs of hard living, hard drinking and occasional forays over the line of legality are the order of the day, delivered in a no-nonsense manner that is full of the charisma of lead vocalist Jamie Oliver.  Big Tobacco & The Pickers, the band's self-titled debut, delivers on the promise of the band's live shows, and announces Big Tobacco & The Pickers as one of the bright new stars on the alt-country horizon.

Big Tobacco & The Pickers open with “The Drunker You Get”, a musical take on the classic joke about the quality of the band’s music in direct proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed.  Vocalist Jamie Oliver shows tremendous charisma and showmanship, and the band matches him step for step.  “Whispering Palms” is a northern-dweller’s lament missing his home in the south.  The song has a nice, classic-country feel, like something you might have heard on country radio a generation or two ago.  “Time Ain’t On Your Side” laments the time spent as a young kid/adult ‘running from the mines’.  It’s a song about big dreams, the wasted pursuits of youth and never quite ending up where you intended.  This particular story/song includes a side bar in prison and a lot of regret, but also a thread of pride and fond remembrance deep beneath the surface.  The arrangement is a thing of beauty, and the vocal harmonies sublime. 

“Return To Sender (Say It Ain’t So)” is a monologue from a man who has been untrue and has been exiled from his marriage and children.  Now he has been served with divorce papers and is suffering the ultimate regret for his past actions.  The song is delivered in a straight-forward country arrangement with a fine melody.  “Lonesome, On’ry And Mean” is pure fun; a likely favorite in the live set.  This is the sort of deep album cut that can become a cult favorite.  “My Own Hell” is about two lost souls drinking to their misery together. He somehow shows enough judgment, however, to leave her sleeping on the bar rather than going home with her and making things worse.  It’s a sorrowful but pragmatic turn that’s a bit atypical for popular music in any genre.  “No Good Gal” is pure singer/songwriter/country about a lady who is nothing but trouble.  Three years in and he’s finally moving on, but the tongue-in-cheek story telling makes it clear she’s been nothing but trouble.

“I’m Fine” is all about getting over true love.  Set to a waltz, he acknowledges not being over her, but consoles himself with women, whiskey and the road.  “Livin’ By Rolling The Dice” is catchy, bluesy rock n roll; an outlaw country tune with a classic rock pedigree.  This one’s a lot of fun, a sure-fire hit in Big Tobacco & The Pickers’ live shows.  “Beans For Breakfast” sounds like something that might have grown out of a jam session between Johnny Cash and Luther Wright.  It’s a tongue-in-cheek song about a man living on the dregs of life.  “The Legend Of Ma Barker” is a great story song about the notorious maven and her criminal activities.  Edgy and entertaining, this is the sort of song that will inspire whoops and hollers in a southern bar on a Saturday night.  It’s flat out great songwriting and a sharp performance.    “Big Tobacco & The Pickers” closes with “Sing Me Back Home”, commemorating the power of music to take us back in space and time to home.  It’s a touching and heartfelt tune without a bit of schmaltz. 

Big Tobacco & The Pickers are the real deal.  Mixing elements of classic country, southern rock and down home, self-deprecating humor, Big Tobacco & The Pickers have created an album that stands on its own.  Vocalist Jamie Oliver is personality plus, selling every song as if his life depends on it, and the band is as tight and interconnected as you could hope for.  Big Tobacco & The Pickers has one or two slow moments, but overall is a great reminder of what country music was meant to be.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

 Learn more about Big Tobacco And The Pickers at www.myspace.com/bigtobaccoandthepickersband.  Big Tobacco & The Pickers is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Nomad Planets - You're Never Lost Until You Panic

Nomad Planets - You're Never Lost Until You Panic
2010, The Fairbanks Label

Chicago rock/folk/Americana quartet recently released their third album, You’re Never Lost Until You Panic, continuing the development of a sound that the band began searching for in 1999, but was really born in 2001. At the time Nomad Planets were working on their second album, Edge Of Time, when half of their recorded output was lost in a computer mishap. In spite of this loss, Nomad Planets rebounded and re-recorded the album, finding new life and vitality in the process. Even though it’s been five years since the release of Edge Of Time, it’s apparent that Nomad Planets still have that drive on You’re Never Lost Until You Panic.

You're Never Lost Until You Panic dawns with "Here You Are", a decent Americana-pop tune with a sing-along chorus and a rock-a-bye feel. It's a great opener that puts the listener immediately at ease. "Happiness", surprisingly, comes across a gritty, angry piece. Listeners will form their own opinions, but the juxtaposition of title and feel is surprising. "So Far So Good" represents the pick-up not so much as an art of a means to find someone as needy as you are; it's a great story song in a decent Americana arrangement. "Centerpiece" continues this emotional exploration with jealousy, examining the effects it can have on your mind. This mournful tune is written from the perspective of loss both imagined and real, the former causing the latter rather than preventing it.

"The Flood Song" recalls a great flood on 1962 (Delaware, Ohio, Germany?) and its aftermath from the perspective of someone who lost everything in the deluge. A man looks back on the home he lost and his great love in disbelief ("When the water took my wife it caressed her then consumed her / I Still don't know why it spared the likes of me."), displaying a deft ability capture moments in stark and moving language. "Wherever The Wind Blows" addresses the human tendency to react in herd-like fashion in the political process rather than investing thought in their decision making. It's an indictment of modern society and those who lean to the political right. "Wherever The Wind Blows" is incisive and accurate as far as it goes, but would have more punch if the approach were ecumenical.

Nomad Planets offers up a decent country-flavored cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" in the vein of Luther Wright & The Wrongs. Reverent and subdued, it's a solid listen but lacks the impassioned helplessness of the original and the campy smirk of Wright's stellar cover. "Walking In Quicksand" is a musical parallel for struggling to get ahead while falling further behind. It’s an apt parable for a debt-obsessed culture that mortgages tomorrow for today and ends up owning neither. Nomad Planets takes next to "The Liberty Trail", a song about recovery; breaking free from the chains that hold us down. It's a solid and motivational tune delivered in plaintive tones that's enjoyable and uplifting in humble fashion. Nomad Planets close with "The Modern Ones", a song about the breaking down of traditional boundaries delivered in dark mercurial tones that suggest the sort of uproar such things always raise in cultures from the talking heads to small town cognoscenti.

You're Never Lost Until You Panic is a dark collection about depths and turns in the human condition that might not make the evening news but don't necessarily comply with the expectations of a society with puritan roots. There's a solid political undercurrent to the album that jumps out once in a while but mostly hides deep within songs that almost despondently suggest it's okay to be who you are. This dichotomy plays like a mixed message that's more likely to confuse than empower decisions. It's as if Nomad Planets pursue both advocacy and plausible deniability on You're Never Lost Until You Panic. It's an interesting mix, but likely has a limited demographic of listeners waiting for it.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Nomad Planets at http://www.nomadplanets.com/ or www.myspace.com/nomadplanets. You're Never Lost Until You Panic is available as a CD or Download from Amazon.com. Downloads are also available via iTunes.

Review: Sean Kershaw And The New Jack Ramblers - Coney Island Cowboy

Sean Kershaw And The New Jack Ramblers - Coney Island Cowboy
2009, Sean Kershaw

Sean Kershaw And The New Jack Ramblers have been doing their thing in Brooklyn, NY since 2001, playing high-octane, honky-tonk country music with a Rock N Roll attitude. The band has garnered a lot of positive press in the New York market and beyond, going so far to be chosen as a Playgirl pick of the month in July, 2005. The band continued to play live but took a break from writing original material until this year. Going into the studio with producer Rick Miller (Southern Culture On The Skids), Sean Kershaw And The New Jack Ramblers completed their debut album, Coney Island Cowboy, in just three days.

Kershaw comes off sounding like a cross between Big Rude Jake and Luther Wright. The album is very strong instrumentally and the vocals are good. There is a definite difference between the first and second half of the album. Kershaw front-loaded the album with his best material. Old Hollow Tree is an entertaining drinking song in the spirit of classic Honky-tonk style. While I know that apartments in New York City's five boroughs are expensive, this is a highly creative and probably dangerous solution. Piggy In The Middle is great rockabilly in modern vernacular; very danceable Rock N Roll. Coney Island Cowboy scores high points for an accurate description of Coney Island but just doesn't have the energy and chutzpah of some of the other material here. Already Cheatin' is a definite highlight. The song is highly entertaining and humorous and fits stylistically with old-school Honky-Tonk. When The Sheriff Comes To Town could be read as an analogy for the Judeo-Christian concept of the coming of a Messiah. The song uses humor and intelligent lyrics to tell a story without pushing the song into a religious realm.

Little Mr. Train Man is a pure child’s song, and very entertaining at that. Kershaw runs through tunes such as The Trucker & The Tranny, Get Real Gone, Honkytonk Special and Woke Up Dead, all of which are decent but not really up to par with the rest of the album. The band closes with a trucker classic; the Carl Montgomery/Earl Green penned Six Days On The Road, originally made famous by Dave Dudley. Rick Miller sits in and provides some searing guitar work on what turns out to be the best all-around track on the disc.

Sean Kershaw And The New Jack Ramblers have a flair for Honky-Tonk and Rockabilly with a modern attitude and post-modern lyrics. Their album, Coney Island Cowboy is an entertaining listen but is probably not a threat to break into mainstream radio any time soon. This is bar music, pure and simple. Rick Miller does a great job of capturing some of the sound and energy of a live performance on Coney Island Cowboy, and there is some strong songwriting here, but at the end of the day it's music with a limited demographic (at this time). If you're in Brooklyn on a weekend, I highly recommend you seek out Sean Kershaw And The New Jack Ramblers. I suspect the show will be well worth the cover charge.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Sean Kershaw And The New Jack Ramblers at http://www.seankershaw.com/ or www.myspace.com/seankershawandramblers. If you’d like a physical copy of Coney Island Cowboy, message Kershaw through his MySpace page. Digital downloads are available through iTunes.

Review: The Injured Parties - Fun With A Purpose

The Injured Parties - Fun With A Purpose
2009, Zenith Beast Records

The Injured Parties are a Chicago-based power trio propagating a mid-western brand of roots rock n roll that runs the gamut from Neil Young-style minimalism to the noise of The Velvet Underground. Front Man Larry O. Dean (Post Office, The Me Decade) has a vocal delivery reminiscent of Young, and band mates Jimmy DeLauriea (bass) and Mike Ebersohl (drums) help to build a musical base that's part Americana and part Garage Rock. The Injured Parties debut album, Fun With A Purpose, was produced by Mark Nevers (Lambchop, Calexico) and mastered by Mike Hagler (Wilco, Neko Case, The Mekons).

Fun With A Purpose opens with American Comfort, a vibrant Americana/Rocker that points to an American conceit regarding comfort and consumption in light of how it affects the rest of the world. Been There, Done That takes a limited arrangement and a lead vocal with a bare relationship to a key to offer a linguistically challenged set of lyrics. Dogwalker is an amusing vignette about unrequited love with someone who probably doesn't even know the narrator exists. The song could either be sweet or creepy depending on perspective, but the Americana arrangement is a good one even if there is a looseness to the band throughout. If You're Gonna Break My Heart has a Rembrandts feel to it ala "I'll Be There For You" mixed with a Luther Wright twang. It's an entertaining song with some real life to it but stays on the underside of sonic purity.

Linda Fiorentino is something of a teenage fantasy about a Hollywood babe who's a Terminator. The song is cute but not really funny and not terribly interesting past the first couple of listens. On Her Way To Becoming Something Else details the timeless story of someone young who heads off from home for no other reason than to not be where they grew up any longer. The song is full of adolescent leanings and a driving Americana arrangement that serves as the perfect frame for a caricature that is spot-on. Fun With A Purpose closes out with For Your Protection, a whimsical bit of fluff rock with Punk leanings; a variation on call and response where the backing vocalists sing the same line over-and-over, and as along as the lead vocalist can think of more responses the song can continue. It's a fun exercise with little lasting effect.

Fun With A Purpose is held together with sonic duct tape, with The Injured Parties battering the band structure as often as they play to. The album is amusing and entertaining without being highly musical. The energy of the songs sells the album, and if you accept to Lo-Fi approach and rough songwriting then you'll get it. An aura of satire is in the air, and it has The Injured Parties written all over it.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Injured Parties at http://www.theinjuredparties.com/ or www.myspace.com/theinjuredparties. You can purchase a copy of Fun With A Purpose at Amazon.com, or you can purchase a download through Amazon MP3.

Review: The Belfast Cowboys - The Belfast Cowboys

The Belfast Cowboys - The Belfast Cowboys

2009, Frozen Rope Records

You don't often find cover bands cover in a forum such as this for a two distinct reasons:

1.) Cover bands often don't release albums;
2.) Albums by cover bands don't tend to sell well outside of the band's geographic base as most fans of the covered artist would prefer the originals.

There are exceptions of course. Luther Wright & The Wrongs in particular pulled off a coup covering Pink Floyd's The Wall (Rebuilding The Wall) a few years back, and Diana Ross' Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack is a classic cover album, but it's difficult (and often a mistake) to try and reinterpret an iconic artist's catalog for commercial gain. You tend to offend the hard core fans who are your primary market. Minneapolis' The Belfast Cowboys are a Van Morrison cover band who released their self-titled debut in December of 2008. Not only do The Belfast Cowboys do Van Morrison's material justice, they capture the vibrancy and energy of Morrison from his Them days.

The Belfast Cowboys opens with Cleaning Windows (Minneapolis version); its true to the original version while adding some local flavor. The Funk/R&B underpinnings of this song are as fine as Morrison ever imagined and it gets the album off on the right foot. The album's second song, Wild Night is a treat. Lead singer Terry Walsh performs a bit of musical transubstantiation here, nearly projecting the essence of Morrison for the first of several performances on The Belfast Cowboys. Walsh leads the band through reverent and coherent readings of Into The Mystic, Real Real Gone, Bright Side Of The Road and several other Morrison classics but hits a musical climax on Jackie Wilson Says. The whole band is inspired on this song and you forget for three minutes that you're listening to a cover band. Other highlights include Bright Side Of The Road, Caravan and Precious Time.

The Belfast Cowboys are a first class cover band. Walsh and crew provide a window on Van Morrison the performer 35 years ago. The energy and joy of that young man have been replaced by the wisdom and serenity of the consummate performer who is still musically active today, but longtime Morrison fans will appreciate this honest and reverent look back on the young man he was. It’s a great recording.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Belfast Cowboys at http://www.belfastcowboys.com/. You can pick up a copy of The Belfast Cowboys at www.cdbaby.com/cd/belfastcowboys.