David Serby – Low Hanging Stars
This L.A. country artist has a great reputation & to my ears a glorious laid-back style that doesn’t compromise his thrust in his well-written, literate fun songs. Especially “Fishtail Cadillac.” David doesn’t have a quirky voice like Lyle Lovett, an authoritative voice like Elvis or Waylon Jennings, or a thin voice like Willie Nelson.
It might be easy to dismiss some of these David Serby (acoustic guitar) tunes as retro but listen closely & you’ll hear that he’s telling his tale in a more contemporary voice. It’s his sense of humor & average people are too lazy to get it. “Lonely Motel Days,” is excellent – but the cheesy Farfisa organ will put off some. They don’t get that it’s part of the ambience of such a plasticized cheap place.
This 6th effort was produced by Edward Tree (electric guitars) at Treehouse Studios, San Gabriel, CA where Ed captured the character in David’s voice that fits each of the lyrical scenarios of his 10 themes on Low Hanging Stars (Drops June 14/Blackbird Record Label/35:14). The LP itself is well-conceived because Serby always remains focused on his subject & fleshes it out with tight playing & loose melodies.
There are romantic Spanish-flavored acoustic guitars & an airy Tejano Tex-Mex accordion on “Another Chance To Dream.” But it’s not the song itself that’s gripping, it’s the way Serby sings it that makes it engaging. It’s all played with a deft touch, by skilled musicians who apply the same magic to “The Jukebox Is Broken,” — a real foot-tapper. It sounds like a retro subject to sing about but a jukebox will always have that romantic pull in a country song.
Serby knows exactly what kind of melody needs to be sewn into his lyrics to bring out the most potent version of what he wishes to say. The galloping “She Ain’t Changed At All,” with the dynamic splashes of cymbals for accentuation could’ve been too much, but isn’t. It works excellently. Great song. The majority of the songs are composed wonderfully with energy & exuberance. There’s not a bad tune in the bunch.
Highlights – “Fishtail Cadillac,” “Lonely Motel Days,” “Long Hanging Stars,” “Another Chance To Dream,” “She Ain’t Changed At All,” “The Jukebox Is Broken,” “Trying To Get To Encinitas” & “Is It Lonely In Here.”
Musicians – Darice Bailey (Vox organ/piano/Wurlitzer/bgv), Gregory Boaz (bass), Taras Prodaniuk (bass – track 1), Scott Babcock (drums – track 1), Dale Daniel (drums) & Carl Byron (piano/Hammond B3/accordion).
Color image courtesy of the Blackbird Record label site. CD @ https://www.davidserby.com/ & https://www.blackbirdrecordlabel.com/davidserby
