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Avg: 3.5 (18 ratings)
- Date Released: March 17, 2009
- Genre: Country/Folk
- Style: Rockabilly
- Label: Grassy Knoll Records / Thirty Tigers
Wanderlust and wistfulness done right
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We Say...
Even when they were scoring low-level country chart singles in the mid '90s, BR5-49's retro always felt a bit too kitschy-cutesy for its own good. And now that their frontman Chuck Mead finally has a solo album, it's not entirely devoid of that element, either. But that's not all it has — upbeat pub-rockers like "She Got The Ring" and "I Wish It Was Friday" could pass for Rockpile in Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds modes respectively, and Mead does wanderlust (the dusky heading-back-home lament "Albuquerque") and wistfulness (the music journeyman's regret "A Long Time Ago") well. He's got a knack for a good story — "Gun Metal Gray" is an eerie murder mystery, and "Up on Edge Hill" traces a mountain community's history from when they first captured the high ground to when they built their limestone houses to their present-day wait for the end of the world.
Mead also understands that "Ode to Billie Joe" and "Atlantic City" and "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" all have melodies perfect enough to borrow. What he doesn't have, to be frank, is much more than your average alt-country so-what of a singing voice. And his solo set does lose steam halfway through. But even the two lazy-boned boogie-woogies it ends on shuffle with some charm. And if you get that far, he's won you over. -
They Say...
Mead was the lead guitarist and vocalist for the honky tonk heroes BR5-49. The band built a loyal following in the early '90s despite being "too country for rock and too rock for country", and maybe even "too country for country" at the time. Despite the cynicism of the music biz, the band got signed to Arista, made several albums, almost sold out, moved to Columbia, got dropped again, and found salvation on Dualtone, who allowed the band to be who they always were. With BR5-49 currently on extended hiatus, Mead has stepped out with his own band and dropped 11 smoking roots rock nuggets that will please old fans and win new friends in the Americana/roots rock camp. Point in case, "In a Song," a gospel-esque tribute to what Harlan Howard called "three chords and the truth." Writing songs about writing songs is a tricky business, but Mead pulls it off with a heartfelt tribute to country music. Jubilant pedal steel, sanctified piano, and Mead's soulful vocal put the song across with energy to spare. "She Got the Ring (I Got the Finger)" is the kind of arch tune that used to be the stock in trade of singers like George Jones and Johnny Paycheck. A grinding country-rocker with a tongue-in-cheek lyric, a killer hook, and Mead's nasty guitar solo. Rockers like "I Wish It Was Friday" and "Out on the Natchez Trail" have that good-time BR5-49 groove down cold, as does an unexpectedly energetic cover of George Harrison's "Old Brown Shoe" with a hint of reggae in the rhythm guitar and a shrieking guitar solo from Mead. "Gun Metal Gray" starts like an old-time blues with clanking National steel guitar then develops into a serious swampy stomp-full of darkness and violence. "A Long Time Ago" is another tribute to the lost loves and lost dreams that make up the life of a musician, complemented by a weeping pedal steel and another wrenching vocal performance. The set closes with "No Requests," a humorous bit of country-funk that could also be a kiss-off to the music business. An R&B horn section complements a tune that sounds like it was written by Hank Williams and Howlin' Wolf. Everything here is marked by the same kind of sass and class that made BR5-49 so much fun, and should they never re-form, Mead proves that their legacy is in able hands
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| 01. |  |
Out On The Natchez Trail |
3:21 |
|
| 02. | |
Gun Metal Gray |
4:45 |
|
| 03. | |
She Got The Ring |
3:23 |
|
| 04. | |
Albequerque |
4:02 |
|
| 05. | |
Up On Edge Hill |
4:45 |
|
| 06. | |
I Wish It Was Friday |
3:19 |
|
| 07. | |
A Long Time Ago |
4:17 |
|
| 08. | |
After The Last Witness Is Gone |
2:53 |
|
| 09. | |
In A Song |
3:57 |
|
| 10. | |
Old Brown Shoe |
3:18 |
|
| 11. | |
No Requests |
3:49 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 41:49 Total Length
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Credits
- Audley Freed - Guitar // Jim Hoke - Accordion // Jim Hoke - Saxophone // Mark Horn - Drums // David Roe - Bass // Jon Tiven - Saxophone // Kenny Vaughan - Guitar // Kenny Vaughan - Guitar (Electric) // Kenny Vaughan - Guitar (12 String) // Jim Herrington - Photography // Chuck Mead - Guitar // Chuck Mead - Conga // Chuck Mead - Vocals // Chuck Mead - Guitar (Resonator) // Gina R. Binkley - Design // Jen Gunderman - Piano // Jen Gunderman - Organ (Hammond) // Jen Gunderman - Wurlitzer // Jen Gunderman - Vox Continental // Tim McFadden - Management // Mark "Guitar" Miller - Guitar (Bass) // Mark "Guitar" Miller - Vocals (Background)
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