Country, country blues and country rock
For those who know Skip Heller from his jazz, lounge and exotica music, this Americana outing come as something of a surprise. His pedigree reaches back to mid-90s work with Les Baxter, Robert Drasnin and Yma Sumac, and a string of organ-centric albums that includes the trio’s two previous outings, Along the Anchorline and Mean Things Happen in This Land, jazz titles like Fakebook, and the exotica Lua-O-Milo. But there’s another side to Heller’s career to be found in the rockabilly sides he’s produced for Dee Lannon and Ray Campi, and work with Wanda Jackson, Dave Alvin and Chris Gafney. Given these latter connections, this album of country, country blues, and country rock, isn’t at all without precedent.
Heller isn’t shy about his roots influences, as his songs strongly echo the styles of Tom T. Hall, Merle Haggard and John Hartford. He writes heartbroken songs of falling for the wrong woman and being left behind by the right one. He adopts a sad-sack tone that perches on the edge between hope and bitterness for the opening “I Used to Love California†and cops the vibe and guitar riff of “Ode to Billy Joe†for his stock taking “At My Age.†He imagines Duke Ellington’s inglorious latter-day gigs (“it was a gas money gig at a high school in some tiny town in central PAâ€), rediscovers the post-Katrina New Orleans, and worries about loving a married woman.
His subjects are imaginative and fresh, and though he’s not a gifted vocalist, he can be effective. What he lacks in vocal refinement he more than makes up with his guitar playing. The echoed electric guitar solo on the closing “Tracy Lee,†is just one example of how delicious his playing can be. A pair of blues, one led by Robert Drasnin’s clarinet and the other strummed on guitar, connect his country and jazz backgrounds, and touches of DJ Bonebreak’s vibraphone hint at his lounge work. With his fingers in so many musical pies this release didn’t draw the attention it deserves. Heller is a sophisticated songwriter and musician whose roots-oriented work seems to be overshadowed by his productions for others and his reputation as a jazz player. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com] 