|
Guest
|
The Band of Heathens "The Band of Heathens" (BOH)
Having gravitated to one another's live sets at Momo's in Austin,
Texas, songwriters Colin Brooks, Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi (together
with bassist Seth Whitney and drummer John Chipman) formed The Band of
Heathens and released their 2006 debut as, unsurprisingly, "Live at
Momo's." More unusually, their follow-up was also a live disc, and it
wasn't until this 2008 release that the quintet settled down to record
in a proper studio. Their combination of country, rock and blues has a
distinctly southern flavor, venturing towards Southern Rock and
stadium-sized energy of John Mellancamp's heartland singalongs, but
remaining rootsy throughout. There are numerous antecedents here,
including the bluesy melting pot of Little Feat, the 1970s rock-goes-
country Rolling Stones, the eclecticism of Commander Cody and NRBQ,
and the rustic sentiments of The Band.
Produced by the legendary Ray Wylie Hubbard, the disc's eleven songs
cover a lot of ground, from multi-part harmony-laden country to
electric blues rock. The Southern fried gospel blues of "Unsleeping
Eye" nods vigorously to Little Feat, and the mandolin and pump organ
(courtesy of Stephen Bruton and Gurf Morlix, respectively) of "Second
Line" add a lazy New Orleans drawl. Patty Griffin adds her voice to
"Maple Tears" sad story of cross-border broken hearts, and the oil-
rigger's tale, "Nine Steps Down" has an irresistible radio-ready
melody. Among the most successful productions are the album's
simplest, such as the gentle arrangement of Ed Jurdi's love song, "40
Days," and the salacious backporch blues "Cornbread," featuring
producer Hubbard on slide guitar.
The Band of Heathens mix of blues, rock, country and folk brings to
mind the ground-breaking experiments of the late '60s and early '70s,
as well as the more commercially-oriented efforts of acts like The
Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Eagles. The results neatly provide
country music fans a respite from the pop productions of Nashville's
mainstream without resorting to the archness of alt.country
opposition. [(c)2008 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com] |
|
|
