Corb Lund – “A Game In Town Like This”
Posted on | November 9, 2009 | 1 Comment
1. When I covered Corb Lund earlier this year, I mentioned that his music might be better described as rural rather than country. His latest single “A Game In Town Like This”, from his new record Losin’ Lately Gambler takes a different approach to that homemade genre, exploring the intricacies of small town life. Like Adam Carroll, Lund has a way with creating characters of incredible depth, often by describing their situation rather than their person. His subtle plot details the song’s breezy rhythm contribute to its immediate appeal.
2. Lund finds himself deep in a game of “crazy pot size” against Asian dealers who, “with all that tax free money/ have deeper pockets than I do”. Though unable to keep up with the action, Lund finds himself naively amused to be playing at all. Later, finding himself in traffic, he reminisces to when his lover would wake upon his early morning return, asking how he came out. Noting that he would “sometimes just say nothing”, he then alludes that he is “livin’ with what [he's] done, leaving the door open for interpretation as to whether that extends beyond his poker losses. He explains, as his “up-all-nighted eyes” mistake a diamond for a heart, and he goes belly up for the last time.
3. He reveals that he left town after that game, but stopped back through to “donate a couple thousand”, noting that he now “knows the cost”. His lovable loser tale fits well with his friend and frequent touring partner Hayes Carll (who he recommended in his 5 Records With interview), who learned the art of the simpleton character from John Prine. Lund’s keeps it simple with the music, and his frank Canadian drawl make this song as easy to like as the character he conjures.
Corb Lund – A Game In Town Like This
Throwback Thursday – John Prine – “Paradise”
Posted on | October 15, 2009 | 1 Comment
1. John Prine is a master of making small slices of life profound. His music is relatively simple, but his approach to storytelling finds a way to extract great amounts of empathy for his characters. “Paradise”, from his debut self titled album is a classic example of how his endearing style has made him a legend. One of the first three songs he ever played (along with “Illegal Smile” and “Sam Stone”), this ode to a phantom town is seen through the eyes of a child, which makes it both a lament about the effects of progress and the loss of innocence.
2. He starts (and stays) bright and cheery, reminiscing about traveling to Western Kentucky, pointing to the way that children excitedly turn memories over and over in their mind like a rock tumbler until the “memories are worn”. When his narrator asks his dad to take him back to “Muhlenberg County, down by the Green River where Paradise lay”, his father replies that his son is “too late in asking”, saying that the town is gone due to the coal miners hauling it off. Prine shows a bit of childlike ignorance in the next verse, going back to a memory of shooting pop bottles in this place, where the “air smelled like snakes”. Shortly after, he recounts the coal company stripping the land of its resources, and marking it up as the “progress of man”. In this, Prine steps out from behind his child narrator to question the modern idea of progress, asking the question of whether losing these sorts of memories is truly a step forward. He asks that when he dies, his ashes and soul be transported back to that place, the closest he felt to heaven on earth.
3. Though Prine is better known for “Angel From Montgomery”, “Paradise” shows off what he does best, in a simple, homegrown style that maintains cheeriness despite its heavy subject matter. He lets the song musically take on the blissful ignorance of a child, while at the same time lyrically bearing the burden of the advent of industry. Hayes Carll recently expressed joy at being asked to sing this song with Prine at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, showing the effect the song still carries today (as well as the enduring stature of the songwriter). In a world of increasing complexity, Prine’s ability to provide social commentary in a simple, entertaining form has secured his lasting impact on a generation of songwriters.
Album Review: John Fogerty – The Blue Ridge Rangers Ride Again
Posted on | September 15, 2009 | No Comments
1. John Fogerty hails from the same state that Buck Owens once made his home, and the two might have had a lot more in common had they been closer in age. As it is, the older Owens took a more traditional country route in forging his Bakersfield sound, and the younger Fogerty flavored his slice of Americana with rock and roll and r&b. On his new record The Blue Ridge Rangers Ride Again, Fogerty returns to the classic country covers of his first solo outing, this time with a crack band including Buddy Miller, Kenny Aronoff, and Greg Leisz. Oh yeah, and two of the Eagles and some guy named Bruce Springsteen.
2. Fogerty pays tribute to some of his heroes who made the country music that belied CCR hits such as “Green River” and “Lodi” taking on Buck Owens himself with “I Don’t Care” and Ray Price with “I’ll Be There” and “Fallin Fallin Fallin”. A testament to his devotion to this era of country is the band he surrounded himself with, who ably fill the tracks with more twang than any top-10 country artist. Fogerty obliges the band with old-school shout-outs as they take their solos, adding to the charm. On Rick Nelson’s “Garden Party”, Timothy B. Schmit and Don Henley show up putting their best foot forward with a thick layer of harmonies that wonderfully echo Nelson’s understated original track. “Moody River” also benefits from some excellent harmony vocals that make it one of the more upbeat murder ballads I’ve heard.
3. John Prine’s “Paradise” and John Denver’s “Back Home Again” get the acoustic treatment with a bluegrass feel spiked by Leisz’s ace dobro work. Prine is a nice choice for the discerning country listener who might scoff at the inclusion of a John Denver song, but Fogerty’s earnestness makes the two sit naturally on the same record. In fact, Fogerty’s earnestness and obvious passion for these songs are what make this record work. These tunes are so dead simple that it would be impossible pull them off if you didn’t believe in them whole-heartedly, and John Fogerty leaves no room for doubt about that.
4. Wrapping up the record, Fogerty pays tribute to one of the great close-harmony duos of all time with his cover of the Everlys’ “When Will I Be Loved”, featuring an exuberant Bruce Springsteen. Here, the duo manage to combine the longing of the original with Fogerty’s rough-around-the-edges style that is damn near perfect. It would be hard to miss with this combination of American rock legends, but they somehow manage to beat expectations, even with a somewhat awkward vocal ad-lib in the middle.
4. John Fogerty has written an incredible amount of American classic songs (remember, Creedence was only a working band for about four years). I have always thought he and Tom Petty were musical doppelgangers, with Petty seeking the California sound via Gainesville and Fogerty seeking the Florida swamp-rock sound via California, but this record showcases the golden country music where their interests cross paths. These songs need more tribute, and need more artists like Fogerty who are willing to update them for a younger audience. Here’s to hoping this isn’t the only reunion of the Blue Ridge Rangers.