Author Archives: hyperbolium

The Flat Five: It’s a World of Love and Hope

flatfive_itsaworldofloveandhopeUtterly charming harmony group swings pop, jazz and R&B

Though only a part-time congregation, this Chicago quintet has brilliantly combined the cool swing of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, the complex arrangements of Curt Boettcher and the lush harmonies of the Anita Kerr Singers. Comprised of NRBQ’s Scott Ligon and Casey McDonough, the Decemberists’ touring vocalists Kelly Hogan and Nora O’Connor, and session ace Alex Hall, the Flat Five debut a mesmerizing blend of pop, jazz, R&B and folk that is laden with joie de vivre. The opening “Florida” is effervescent with harmonies and a chiming guitar hook, and the R&B “Buglight” sounds like a jivey mashup of the Andrews Sisters, Roches, Mills Brothers, Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks and Coasters.

The album’s ‘60s vibe recalls Boettcher’s work with the Association, Millennium and Sagittarius, along with the sunshine pop of the Free Design and Spanky and Our Gang. There’s a touch of Bacharach in the trumpet solo of “Birmingham,” a McCartney-like bass line on “I Could Fall in Love With You,” and the Latin-styled “This is Your Night” recalls Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66. Though to be fair to the latter’s playfulness, it’s unlikely that Brasil ‘66 vocalist Lani Hall ever sang anything like “don’t just sit around and mope / buy yourself a great big bag of dope / it’s a world of love and hope.” Those lyrics, along with those of the entire album, come from Chris Ligon, older brother of group member Scott, and a writer of uncommonly fine senses of melody and humor.

The group’s instrumental sound is the perfect complement to their harmonies, fluidly stretching from the banjo-lined folk of “Bottom Buck” to the languid guitar and accordion of “She’s Only Five” and Emmit Rhodes-inspired “I Could Fall in Love With You.” The waltz-time jazz “You’re Still Joe” has a tasty electric piano solo to complement the swinging rhythm section and a remarkable bell-like vocal round that plays the song out. The closing “It’s Been a Delight” is nominally a farewell from lovers who’ve loved the night away, but it’s also a clever thank you to the record’s listeners, and a fittingly sweet end to thirty-five minutes of vocal delight. This is the biggest, most unexpected and best musical surprise of the year. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

The Flat Five’s Home Page

Donna Fargo: That Was Yesterday

donnafargo_thatwasyesterdayDonna Fargo’s late-70s return to the charts

Top 40 listeners will remember Donna Fargo for her pair of 1972 crossover hits, “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” and “Funny Face,” but country fans will also recall the decade-long tail of her career. After her commercial fortunes began to fade in 1975, Fargo moved from Dot to Warner Brothers, and reignited her chart success with “Mr. Doodles.” That song provides the launching point for this collection of Fargo’s Warner Brothers-era sides, running through 1981’s non-LP “Lonestar Cowboy” and “Jacamo.” There are a few singles missing (1979’s “Walk on By” and a pair of low-charting sides from 1980’s Fargo), but what’s here covers the core of her commercial success at Warner Brothers, including six Top 10 hits, and the chart topping title track “That Was Yesterday.” Unusually for the times, Fargo wrote most her own material, only turning to others for hits (including “Mockin’ Bird Hill,” “Shame on Me,” “Do I Love You (Yes in Every Way),” “Ragamuffin Man,” and “Another Goodbye”) in the late ‘70s. For her earlier material on Dot, check out Varese’s Best Of collection, but to fill out the second half of her hit-making years, this is the set to get. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Donna Fargo’s Home Page

Paul Kelly and Charlie Owen: Death’s Dateless Night

paulkellycharlieowen_deathsdatelessnightFascinating set of songs requested for funerals

Having established himself as one of Australia’s premier singer-songwriters, Paul Kelly’s also established himself as one of the continent’s most creative musical artists. His recent releases include an album of Shakespeare sonnets set to song, a live collaboration and album with Neil Finn, and an A-Z tour and accompanying eight-CD anthology of his entire song catalog. His latest, a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Charlie Owen, collects songs the two musicians had been asked to perform at funerals. It’s a remarkable playlist of songs selected by the deceased and as salve for the souls of those left behind.

What’s most fascinating are the new layers of meaning these songs gain in a funereal frame, and the philosophical continuities exposed by their juxtaposition. Stephen Foster’s nineteenth century parlor song “Hard Times Come Again No More” moves from a plea to the fortunate to a consideration of everyone’s equality at life’s end, and Cole Porter’s western-themed “Don’t Fence Me In” points to freedoms that eventually accrue to all good souls. Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire” essays earthly bonds that may be released in the hereafter, and Townes Van Zandt’s soaring “To Live is to Fly” provides a hopefully ironic twist.

Owen’s atmospheric and largely spare backings of piano, dobro and lap steel couple with Kelly’s guitar to provide contemplative spaces for the vocals. Everything from the turn-of-the-century “Pallet on the Floor” through the Beatles “Let It Be” fit easily together. Kelly adds two originals (“Nukkanya” and “Meet Me in the Middle of the Air”), the traditional Irish farewell “The Parting Glass,” and closes with Hank Williams’ “Angel of Death.” The latter’s cautionary note to the living suggests that the previously essayed rewards aren’t guaranteed. The album’s frame is a remarkable idea, and its execution superb. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Paul Kelly’s Home Page
Charlie Owen’s Facebook Page

Peter Case: Peter Case

petercase_petercaseA soulful rock ‘n’ roller creates a modern folk sound on bonus-laden 2016 reissue

Two years after the breakup of the Plimsouls, Peter Case returned with a solo album that departed from soul-tinged rock ‘n’ roll and moved to folk and blues rendered in modern hues. T-Bone Burnett’s production includes electric guitars and drums, but they’re layered carefully among acoustic and synthetic elements. Case’s new material sported more abstract surfaces and tackled introspective and socially conscious themes, and combined with Burnett’s production, led the singer to more subtle vocals. A few of the songs, including “Walk in the Woods” and the Pogues’ “Pair of Brown Eyes,” are narrative, but others, including “Echo Wars,” “Steel Strings” and “I Shook His Hand” remain more open ended.

Case’s is matched by Burnett and the assembled musicians, as harmonica and percussive guitar are backed by a Van Dyke Parks string arrangement on “Small Town Spree,” and Jerry Marotta’s drum machine adds texture on several tracks. Omnivore’s 2016 reissue includes a sixteen-page booklet with new liner notes by Case, and expands the original twelve-track lineup with seven bonuses. The latter features acoustic versions of “Steel Strings” and “I Shook His Hand” previously issued on the promo-only Selections from Peter Case, and five vault finds. Latter day fans who haven’t dug back this far in Case’s catalog now have a reason to do so, and fans have a good reason to upgrade. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Peter Case’s Home Page

Various Artists: Feel Like Going Home – The Songs of Charlie Rich

various_feellikegoinghomeA tribute to Charlie Rich’s Sun-era songwriting

Though Charlie Rich found his greatest fame as a Nashville country crooner for Epic, the soul of his music was born in Memphis. Rich’s smooth countrypolitan ballads topped the charts in the mid-70s, but it was in fact a departure from the jazz, blues, rockabilly, gospel and soul flavors of his earlier work. And it’s those earlier flavors that are revisited here, as thirteen artists – including Charlie Rich, Jr. – perform songs written and performed by Rich during his years as an artist, sideman and songwriter for Sun and Phillips International.

In addition to the well-known “Lonely Weekends” (given a bluesy treatment by Jim Lauderdale) and “Who Will the Next Fool Be” (sung with sultry southern soul by Holli Mosley), the set includes non-charting singles and B-sides. Highlights include the Malpass Brothers’ crooned “Caught in the Middle,” Juliet Simmons Dinallo’s hot rockabilly “Whirlwind,” Johnny Hoy’s wailing “Don’t Put No Headstone On My Grave,” Keith Sykes’ snakebit “Everything I Do Is Wrong,” and Kevin Connolly’s heartfelt closing title song.

The sessions were held primarily in the same post-Sun Sam Phillips Recording studio that hosted Rich for the originals, and the collection has been released on the same Phillips International label. You can find Rich’s original sides on the single disc The Complete Singles Plus: The Sun Years 1958-1963, or the deeper box sets Lonely Weekends: The Sun Years, 1958-1962 and The Complete Sun Masters, but these new takes are a treat, as Rich’s early work informs new generations of musicians with his unique blend of country, blues, rock, soul, gospel and jazz. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Various Artist: Highway Prayer – A Tribute to Adam Carroll

various_highwayprayeratributetoadamcarrollSome of Americana’s finest songwriters salute a peer

It’s one thing for a songwriter to be fêted with a tribute album at the relatively young at of 42, but to be honored by a who’s who of one’s peers speaks louder than words. And with the likes of James McMurtry, Hayes Carll and Slaid Cleaves having satchels full of terrific original material, their willingness to saddle up a favorite from Adam Carroll’s catalog is both a tributary offering and an artistic opportunity. The largely acoustic productions of Jenni Finlay and Brian T. Atkinson rightly leave the limelight on lyrics whose emotional resonance is immediate, and whose meters are so natural that they barely sound composed.

Each performer finds a natural fit to their chosen song, with the Band of Heathens’ digging a gospel groove for “Oklahoma Gypsy Shuffler” and Matt the Electrician adding anxious fingerpicking to “Old Town Rock ‘n’ Roll.” There’s two-stepping mandolin and steel as Noel McKay and Brennen Leigh sing the story of Bob, the “Karaoke Cowboy,” and Walt Wilkins explores a showman’s life in “Highway Prayer.” Carroll’s lyrics derive from fleeting moments, snapshots whose studied details conjure life stories. His narratives drop their baggage on the platform to chase expectation down the tracks, one step ahead of consequence.

Carroll slips easily between observed detail and poetic flight, framing everyday images as literary moments. He’s particularly adept at portraiture, whether it’s a colorful hustler, a rural taxi driver or a karaoke singer, he sees what you might feel, but couldn’t verbalize, capturing a person’s essence in the details of their physical being and actions. The titles draw heavily from Carroll’s first two albums, South of Town and Lookin’ Out the Screen Door, as well as 2008’s Old Town Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Carroll himself appears at CD’s end to honor “My Only Good Shirt.” It’s a sweet way to close this tribute to a much loved songwriter. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Adam Carroll’s Home Page

Gene & Eddie: True Enough – Gene & Eddie with Sir Joe at Ru-Jac

geneandeddie_trueenoughRare late-60s and early-70s Baltimore soul sides

Omnivore’s second volume of material from Baltimore’s Ru-Jac label focuses on the singles of Washington, D.C. soul duo Gene Dorsett & Eddie Best, and fills out the disc with a trio of tracks from their producer Sir Joe Quarterman and a pair from Gene & Eddie’s time with the Nightcaps. Ru-Jac was founded as one of the first African-American owned labels by Rufus Mitchell, and grew out of his work managing and booking musical acts for the Carr’s Beach summer resort in Annapolis. The label’s catalog began in 1963 (with Jessie Crawford’s “Please Don’t Go“) and stretched into the early 1970s, featuring mostly soul, but also some jazz and even garage rock.

Gene & Eddie opened for and toured in support of major R&B acts, but never broke nationally. They had a regional hit with the doo-wop influenced “It’s So Hard,” and plenty of other hit-worthy original material, but a small, independent label from Baltimore apparently didn’t have the muscle (or the funds) to break the act nationally. Their early singles show the influences of Sam & Dave’s effervescence, Otis Redding’s mournfulness and Wilson Pickett’s funky bounce. Quarterman’s mono productions are full-bodied and nicely balanced, backing Gene & Eddie with horn-rimmed arrangements and solid female backing vocalists. By the early 1970s, “It’s No Sin,” “Darling I Love You” and their B-sides turned from Stax to Philly and Motown for sound inspiration.

Sir Joe’s own sides are higher energy than those he produced for Gene & Eddie, with “Every Day (I’ll Be Needing You)” featuring a psychedelic guitar break. The bonus tracks include a pair recorded in 1965 with the Nightcaps, a third Sir Joe track, and previously unreleased stereo mixes of “You Don’t Fool Me” and “Let Me Go Easy.” The Nightcaps’ 1965 take of “It’s So Hard” hangs onto 1950s influences, contrasting with the 1969 soulified remake, and the sax and guitar of “Check You Later” give Gene & Eddie a real go-go spark. Omnivore’s usual attention to detail – clean remastering, a 16-page booklet stuffed with detailed liner notes, rare photos and label reproductions – makes this an extra special package of soul. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Zach Schmidt: The Day We Lost the War

zachschmidt_thedaywelostthewarPittsburgh keeps its hold on an East Nashville singer-songwriter

Zach Schmidt’s a Pittsburgh native who relocated to East Nashville, closer to, but still a river crossing and an artistic universe away from the country music industry. His first full-length album is the product of five years of songwriting, an Indiegogo fundraising campaign and the musical contributions of friends who tracked, mixed and mastered the album in two days of live sessions. It’s a mark of the talent in Schmidt’s tight-knit musical community that two days was plenty of time to get ten solid masters on tape. It probably helps that the songwriter had been polishing his songs over the years in front of or with these very musicians, as their affection for the material is heard in the shuffling drums, bending steel and twanging guitars.

Schmidt’s mood echoes the weary side of Guitar Town-era Steve Earle, and while his protagonists are often tired and defeated, they still manage to muster a look forward. The nowhere town of the title track is a jail in which hope has faded, and from which escape seems unlikely. In Schmidt’s world, a lifetime of hard work may be redeemed in the hereafter or taken away in the blink of the eye, but either way, your burdens are what carry you forward. His songs are populated with orphans and widows, the departing, and on James Maple’s “Buried in Burgundy,” the departed. Schmidt sings with the twang of his adopted Nashville, but the rust of his native Pittsburgh has clearly left its mark. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Zach Schmidt’s Home Page