Bentley’s Bandstand July 2024
By Bill Bentley
Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore, TEXICALI. These two musical brothers have always had a strong connection. Dave Alvin covered the rock & roll waterfront a little more than Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but Gilmore dug into country a bit deeper than Alvin did coming up. But in the end they were both fanatics for each style, and when they got together it really was the perfect match. With Alvin’s years in the Blasters and Gilmore’s time in the Flatlanders, each had those years of experience in bands which made this twosome gel from their very first downbeat. TEXICALI shows just how wondrous their collaboration has become. They both contribute original songs to record, and pull from the historic catalogues of Blind Willie McTell, Brownie McGee, Stonewall Jackson and Josh White, among others, to make sure the full scope of American music is given a chance to explode. There is something about what happens to songs when Alvin and Gilmore zero in on what makes them so explosive. It’s like the pyrotechnics are pulled out and each of them get to show their stuff. There are also a few superfine surprises as well: the way they zero in on Dave Alvin’s salute to Canned Heat’s hero Alan Wilson on “Blind Owl,” an unmistakable cover of Gilmore’s fellow Flatlander Butch Hancock’s “Roll Around” and the absolutely gorgeous co-write that ends the duo’s TEXICALI collaboration “We’re Still Here.” Truer words were never sung. What a pair.
Rory Block, POSITIVELY 4th STREET: A TRIBUTE TO BOB DYLAN. It takes a lot of strength to record an album of Bob Dylan songs. So many recordings have already been done, the question is if there is a way to bring originality to the affair. That isn’t a problem for Rory Block. She grew up in the whirlwind of Greenwich Village in the heyday of the 1960s, and all the musical groundbreakers of that era, with Dylan one of those leading the charge. Being around him at his beginning surely gave her the strength to hear his progression and take on the songs that she wanted to sing. She learned the Dylan approach to music sitting up close, watching and listening to the new world being born right before her as a teenager. POSITIVELY 4th STREET is a joy and inspiration from start to finish, starting with the song selections. There are the lifelong classic written by Bob Dylan, but also some surprises like “Ring Them Bells,” “Mother of Muses” and “Murder Most Foul” to give the album a big tinge of excitement for non-classics, and allows Rory Block to really show her own inspirations. Her voice has the edge of someone who grew up in Greenwich Village like she did, and to have seen the growth of American musical history. Hearing it all so up close and personal gives Block the strength to capture these songs on her own terms. There is no imitation or even appropriation. She is in it to express what she heard and observed at the very beginning of her music explorations, and to hear her now is to feel like the wild ride of this unbeatable musical period is unfolding right in front of us. Not dark yet.
George Ducas, LONG WAY FROM HOME. There is no other way to say it: George Ducas’ new release LONG WAY FROM HOME is the best country album of the year. There is something so strong and alive about it and all the songs that that fact is absolutely unmistakeable. Ducas has a powerhouse of a voice, full of Southern strength and total conviction. Marry that with producer Pete Anderson’s high octane production and it feels like a musical hurricane has hit. Anderson’s unavoidable success with artists like Dwight Yoakam, Jim Lauderdale, Lucinda Williams is a known fact, and this pairing with Ducas feels like a big-time step into the winner’s circle again. When a great artist finds that kind of support in the studio, that’s when the bells start ringing announcing that a new star has stepped into the ring. Of course, music starts with songs and on that front George Ducas has it all covered. The man has been on the best-seller charts before, and on this new album it feels like he’s got an album-full of future hits. It sounds like that’s just a given. This time around he’s obviously there to stay. There is often something so instantly clear in country music when a new star steps into the spotlight that room is made for the musician and the wheels start turning fast. That’s what George Ducas’ career feels like now. The joy and the heartbreak of a life fully lived is captured on LONG WAY FROM HOME in a way that just can’t be missed. They sometimes call country music “three chords and the truth,” and the way the three chords are played and the truth is sung by this young man is so straight-ahead it’s only a matter of time before the world catches on. Time is now.
The Harlem Gospel Travelers, RHAPSODY. There can be no doubt gospel music is one of the bedrocks for so much of modern music. Churchgoers started singing in churches when there were very few other places to express themselves. The holy spirit they were celebrating then was a path to glory, and in some ways was the only means of finding a way there. Luckily, the singers’ perseverance has never stopped, right up until today and the proud dedication of the Harlem Gospel Travelers and all they celebrate. Eli “Paperboy” Reed has jumped in all the way to help the Travelers express themselves today, co-producing this glorious album with the Travelers’ Ifedayo Gatling with such a sure hand it sounds like an accomplishment of modern history. These singers have dedicated themselves to bringing freedom and belief to all who listen, and share their voices not just with their listeners but also with the holy spirits who give them the belief that the holy spirit is something to share. It’s what will always remain the underpinning of true gospel music, and those who enter the sanctity of these sounds are on a mission to get over to the other side. With Gatling, George Marage and Dennis Keith Bailey III joining together in the sounds of a higher power, one that keeps them moving ahead on the road to the Holy Spirit, there is a path to salvation. Feel and healed.
Lake Street Dive, GOOD TOGETHER. It has often felt like Lake Street Dive was one strong song short of a breakthrough. The band’s new album seems like it might be the one to go there. With producer Mike Elizondo, the Massachusetts outfit has gotten a little tougher on the beats, and the vocalists feel like they’ve been hanging out in the darker parts of the dance floor. Lead singer Rachael Price has found a deepness in her delivery that hits the bullseye on almost every song, and Lake Street Dive’s rhythm section has discovered a new sassiness which fits their music just right. And if the songs aren’t all instantly memorable, enough are. With this being their eighth album, it’s surely time for them to take over all the promise they’ve shown over the years and bust out into the bigtime. There really isn’t a band like Lake Street Dive right now. With such a superb funkiness and enough uptown sassiness it has felt like a national presence is just around the bend. And for a band that isn’t afraid to lay the horns on their tracks, the soul music crowd has been in the aggrregation’s corner since the beginning, right next to the jazzbos who dig the groove of the uptown arrangements and downtown groove. And it’s a heartbreaker called for from the band, “Twenty-Five” is a two-hanky weeper that can tear the heart in two and stamp it into the ground. Ms. Price has the pain in her vocal that doesn’t come around that much. She’s one of the few vocalists out there who could cover Ecstasy, Passion & Pain’s “I Wouldn’t Give You Up” on the “Car Wash” soundtrack from 50 years ago and take it all the way to the top of the hit parade. Bands like Lake Street Dive don’t come around often enough, and whatever it takes to make sure they last another few decades, now is the time to raise the hand. It’s star-time.
The Howlers, UNEASY LISTENING: 1974-1978. There once was a band of mostly Mississippians who decided to head west out of the Magnolia State and head for Texas. It was a group that knew there was action to be found in Austin town, and they started kicking up sand in action in the Lone Star state. It didn’t take long to create a reputation for musical movement and unending excitement. Kent “Omar” Dykes was accompanied with such a richness of musical talent that The Howlers climbed to the head of the night club action in River City right away. They soon were winning awards and making a lifelong reputation for full-tilt excitement The crew got busy playing and recording big time blues and rock & roll wherever they could, and find live juke joints and theaters to build a blasting reputation. These recordings from the mid-70s have been put together on a collection called UNEASY LISTENING, and after sitting in storage for nearly a lifetime; it’s time they were set loose on The Howlers’ fandom to show the world about an era of live music that was truly one of a kind. A whole range of rock & roll classics like “Honky Tonk,” “You Can’t Catch Me,” “Oh Pretty Woman” and more juke joint perennials join seriously deep-fried origins so that it feels like the clock has been turned back to when rock & rollers were running the streets of Austin with such fervor that it seemed like it would go on forever. UNEASY LISTENING is the kind of music that offers a new life for those seeking the vibrancy of the path and the promise of the future. And while there’s long been a feeling that people can’t go back again, don’t believe it. The Howlers are here, fired up by some of the best players on the planet 40 years ago, and they’re proud for the musical promise they all delivered, and for giving Omar and his jolly band of sonic pirates a place to get started and deliver the mischief to bandstands across the South. Burn baby burn, and do not despair. The cavalry’s arrived.
Mighty Mike Schermer, THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL RAY PICKENS AND HIS OlD MAN COUNTRY BAND. Humility is not a negative in playing great music. That’s because there are always others who can make a claim in musical greatness, and show things that have never been heard before. Luckily, Mighty Mike Schermer is someone who doesn’t need to brag. All he needs to do is sing and play his guitar and show how timeless sounds are nurtured. Schermer is a musical giant on his own. His original songs are poetry with some kick-ass added to them, and he isn’t afraid to venture into lyrical territory that few others explore. With co-producer Kid Andersen, Schermer will march into the future without worry, and writing songs like “Dale Watson Moved to Memphis,” “The Last Lie I Ever You Tell,” “We’re Stuck” and “Country Roots” is helping him spread his reputation from town to town. He’s one of a small army who give it their all to make sure country music stays fresh, sometimes funny and other times heartbreaking, without asking for anything but ears to listen and appreciation to all they accomplish. This is clearly a man who appreciates the history of all those who came before him, and wants to give inspiration to those who come after. A musical believer.
JD Simo & Luther Dickinson, DO THE RUMP. Here’s a music match first made in heaven. JD Simo and Luther Dickinson first collided in sonic gyrations when they were touring with original Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh. With that kind of initial invention, of course the two guitarists were going to specialize in beauty. They took to each other’s ability like instant glory. Both have such a way with guitaristics that there was no chance they could go wrong. JD Simo has quite the resume, recording with everyone from Dolly Parton to Dan Auerbach. Luther Dickinson, of course, is one of the true American pioneers in the past 20 years, staking his ground with North Mississippi Allstars, The Word and enough other free–flowing heroes like Mavis Staples, Seasick Steve and other magical characters to fill a Greyhound bus. When Simo and Dickinson joined together there was no doubt explosions would occur. These are songs that come out of the shadows and take their velocity into the light. They each approach music like it’s a new way of breathing, and are fearless in climbing new mountains of sound like it was part of their life’s mission. Many of the songs on DO THE RUMP come from inspiration beyond the human realm, and are one-take endeavors in magical playing. Once the pair get properly fired up, they hit the ground running and form a new landscape for what the guitar can accomplish. Needless to say, this is a musical trip beyond trips, and a study in how human beings find new ways to express themselves. It takes a fearless mind and approach to music that’s been in the air a century or two, and move forward in shaping itself into something new. Simo and Dickinson don’t come from normality, but rather a way of seeing the world in new ways, and bending notes and chords just how they want to hear tem. Magic is here.
Various Artists, STOP MAKING SENSE: A TRIBUTE ALBUM. There comes a time when a tribute album feels like it simply has to be made. Talking Heads’ STOP MAKING SENSE soundtrack album is one of those collections. When the band’s film release STOP MAKING SENSE first came out, it didn’t seem that anyone else would someday step into those shoes. Talking Heads was such an iconic outfit, and the film and its soundtrack was totally one of a kind, but the inspiration to cover those songs, 40 years since the filming of the concert, has arrived. From Miley Cyrus to Chicano Batman this is such a totally knocked-out lineup of artists taking on such a wild set of songs, it feels like the celebration of the year. Of course, Talking Heads is one of the few bands to ever record such a set of songs, and deliver a film full of totally original wonder. The band’s David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison are such an original group that there felt like no other chance anyone would equal their abilities. But that doesn’t stop all those who signed up for the tribute to create an originality of their own. It’s like STOP MAKING SENSE’s original creation has given birth to a whole new collection of original music, and each selection hits the top of the line to show how musical originality really works. No one is trying to copy anyone. Instead, each song feels like a massive lesson in a new creation has occurred, and Talking Heads have given all a lesson of artistic fire. Inspiration is alive.
Various Artists, TRUE BLUES BROTHER: THE LEGACY OF MATT “GUITAR” MURPHY. To say that Matt “Guitar” Murphy is one of the true pivotal guitarists of that period of American electric clubs starting in the 1950s and extending all the way to today is likely an understatement. Murphy got in early with the studio scene in Chicago, and got to see closely the inventors like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and all the others that turned American upside down with such powerful sounds they changed the whole world. Murphy started playing sessions for everyone on the blues scene then, and found a spot he kept his whole life. Willie Dixon called him “definitely the best guitar player–the best one I heard anywhere.” When Dixon says that, it’s saying something. This collection of 42-songs on a two-CD set is, needless to say, a compendium of such wide scope it’s impossible to name them all. Better to say it includes about everybody needed to hear from in this lifetime, with many classics and enough surprises to tilt the excitement wheel to the top. Many of the songs are written by Murphy, and some are not. The way that so many nonpareil players are on the sessions says it all about the respect blues musicians–guitarists and otherwise–had for Matt Murphy, and makes a strong case there will not be another on the planet for the foreseeable future. For now, it’s better to give thanks that Murphy lived among us, while blues lovers could see and hear him, and hopefully learn just what the music is really all about. The man knew.
