Not as much music as usual but what is there is choice. Be sure to support our local record stores while digging the music that matters.
Billy Bragg
Tooth and Nail
Cooking Vinyl Records
For all his leftist leanings, none of which he has ever tried to hide, Billy Bragg has always spoken from, and on matters of, the heart. Even his fiercest political diatribes have been tempered with compassion, both for those who have in his eyes done wrong to others and to those who have been wronged.
It’s that inherent balance that has kept Bragg from devolving into the sort of bitterness that has tainted (for instance) the music of Lucinda Williams and Morrissey – both of whom I admire – and others. And for a guy who spends so much time pointing out the failings of our political and economic systems he’s got one hell of sense of humor.
Nowhere is this better evidenced than in Tooth and Nail, Bragg’s first studio effort in five years and an album that demonstrates a further shift towards internal reflection and a general acceptance that sometimes this is how things are.
It is no accident that he starts the opening track (“January Song”) with the lyric “I’m so tightly wound” and finishes it with “This is how the world ends.” He’s still pretty pissed at things – as well he should be – but at the age of 56 he understands that he can either choose his battles or be overwhelmed.
The beautifully mournful “Your Name on My Tongue” is among his more intimate offerings, one that suggests some type of emotional upheaval that sent Bragg to the California studio basement of ace producer Joe Henry to heal. With a shared loved of rural Americana the two make a perfect pair, with Henry challenging and channeling Bragg in ways that suit him best.
With the exception of the rough and tumble “No One Knows Anything Anymore” and the wildly raucous “Tomorrow’s Going To Be A Better Day”, which closes the album on a rather joyous and hopeful note, much of Tooth and Nail is a more subdued Billy Bragg then you’re like used to, or even comfortable with. Even his reading of Woody Guthrie’s “I Ain’t Got No Home” seems more reflective than accusatory. As such Tooth and Nail seems to mark a new direction for Bragg, one that moves away from the angry anarchist of old and towards a more sensible guy just trying to make the world a better place.
I’ll maybe miss the old Billy Bragg but I rather suspect whatever lies ahead for him will be every bit as wonderful. ****
Eric Burdon
‘Til Your River Runs Dry
ABKCO/Universal Records
Eric Burdon has proudly declared ‘Til Your River Runs Dry “the most personal record I’ve ever made” which, given that he’s been in this game for nearly a half century, is a pretty bold statement. After his original tenure with the Animals – who at the peak of the British invasion years were nearly as big as The Stones – and his two year stint with War, Burdon effectively slipped into the background.
Sure he kept working, but until his 1994 reemergence at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, at which The Animals were rightfully inducted as the pioneers they were, a lot of people likely assumed he’d dropped out of the business. He’d kept touring and occasionally recording – largely returning to the blues music he so dearly loves – but it was a relatively low key existence, and one that suited him just fine.
All that ended when at the 2102 SXSW keynote address Bruce Springsteen recalled Burdon as one of his own greatest influences, acknowledged Burdon for his enormous contributions, and invited the then 71 year old master to join him onstage. The crowd went nuts and Burdon was suddenly pushed back to center stage.
Wisely capitalizing upon his raised profile, he cut a quick and dirty (and pretty terrific) indie EP with Cincinnati rockers the Greenhornes before signing up with Abkco, who just happen to own The Animals back catalog. The result is ‘Til Your River Runs Dry, his first high-profile record in eons and his first album of largely original material since 2004.
At this late stage, Burdon is hardly looking to reinvent himself – preferring instead to stick to his basics – but in no way does he sound the least bit stale. He affirms the present by leaning on tradition, reviving the menacing minor-key rock of the Animals, touching upon a bit of War’s multi-cultural funk, indulging his love of the blues, all while reflecting on growing old, waging a bit of social protest, and willfully admitting that that “Old Habits Die Hard.”
He will in no way go gently into the night; if Neil Young sang about it (just as he became increasingly irrelevant) being “better to burn out than to fade away” then Eric Burdon, who nearly did fade out, believes it to his core.
Burdon sounds like a man possessed, pouring everything into this album, knowing it might just be his final shot at again grabbing that golden ring. Given his glorious history Eric Burdon has nothing to prove, but in this old fashioned, tough as nails rock and roll album he manages to remind us who and what he is. *****
Todd May
Rickenbacker Girls
Redeye Music
As the longtime guitarist for Lydia Loveless, as well as having fronted the 1990’s near miss band The Lily Bandits, Todd May has certainly paid his dues. That group flirted around the edges of commercial success but their brand of Southern soul with a strong punk ethos was probably a decade ahead of its time.
Since then, May, while still touring with Loveless, has simultaneously played with both The Mooncussers and Fort Shame, two more bands that are *this close* to breaking through. So May is a pretty busy guy, which means he is getting around to finally releasing his own solo outing is a cause to celebrate. Especially given how assertive, focused, and flat out good it is.
Rickenbacker Girls brims with confidence, both in May’s full throat singing (although he certainly knows when and how to dial it down) and consistently stylish guitar work. His soul strumming brings to mind Duke Robillard (not so much in technique as much as feeling) while his vocals come across as a less bitter and time worn Steve Earle. It’s a winning combination, buoyed by May’s solid songwriting and keen ear.
The title track is a nod to the young pretties he encountered at Rickenbacker Air Force base, not far from his Northern Kentucky home, while “Left to Your Own Devices” points to the follies he sees in others (as well as his own), or, as May declares in the liner notes, “absence makes the heart go yonder.”
For Rickenbacker Girls Todd May has wisely utilized some of his best friends and top players, but the center of attention is exactly where it should be. With this album he steps out of the shadows and right into the spotlight, and while I’ve enjoyed his work elsewhere he’s always welcome to release an album as solid as this. ****
Alien Music Club
Dosta
While the latest offering from Alien Musical Club (essentially one man band Jonathon Pearlman) arrived too late for me to review it in detail I would love to direct you to their website (www.alienmusicclub.com) in hopes that you’ll give them a listen and get a taste of what they (he) are all about.
My first impressions are all positive, and I look forward to exploring the album in greater detail. Rest assured that DOSTA will be getting the full Rapid River coverage in our next issue!