Jason & the Scorchers - Halcyon Times

Halcyon Times Indeed!

In 2010, when it’s the last thing you’d expect, Jason & the Scorchers released a masterpiece.

By Tommy Womack

I’ve put off writing this article for months. I wanted to be sure the CD I received in the mail really sounded like I thought it did, that my mind wasn’t just playing tricks on me. Is it really this good, I thought, or am I just digging hearing songs I co-wrote? I didn’t want to blither sycophantic hyperbole prematurely.

So it’s been a while now, months! Months of starting the record from the top, going through all 14 songs, starting it over, listening again, starting songs over mid-way just to repeat a nice moment, digging a sequence that makes every song better than the one before it, and just marveling in general.

I’m going to say something now that none of you are going to believe, but as a life-long fan who has written extensively about them, and having listened to this record enough times now to know I’m not crazy, here it is: Halcyon Times is the best record Jason & the Scorchers have ever made. Better than Lost & Found, better even than Fervor. If I’m lying, I’m dying. You in the back, sit down. I’m actually serious here.

Fervor had it easy. It was only seven songs and one of them was a Dylan cover. Halcyon Times is twice as many songs, no covers, and each song has something to offer that is equal to anything on that sacred EP of yore. Hand on the Bible.

More points in its favor: Dan Baird & Brad Jones.

The guitar partnership of Warner Hodges and Dan Baird that started with the DB & Homemade Sin record has extended into the Scorchers. Dan appears on almost all the tracks and – just as these two have already demonstrated on the Dan Baird & Homemade Sin record – the marriage of one of rock’s most distinctive twang-shredders and one of its best-ever rhythm players is the best thing this side of AC/DC. It adds a whole new dimension and thrust to what Jason & the Scorchers can sound like and still be Jason & the Scorchers.

There are textures on this record, the harmonies, the ever-so-slight pop touches that are Brad Jones’ signature, and it makes these tracks into something more than another hard rock record. It’s still Jason & the Scorchers and it’s still in your face, but there are little decorations in the sounds that come from a different realm and are something you’ve never heard before on any previous Jason & the Scorchers record.

Photo Credit: Tony MottramJason’s vocals are the most multi-faceted of his career. The almost spoken-word slurs in “Twangtown Blues” are a new turn of phrase for the plain-spoken/sung Midwestern twangster maniac we all know and love. And Jason sang all his vocals at the same time the band was laying down the track, a first at Brad Jones’ behest. The immediacy shows.

Their lyrics have always been great in a plain-spoken country-western way, but the sharp wordplay that flies off of this platter is a personal best. (“Tonight he’ll kill a six-pack, just to watch it die!” “I beat on the mountain, but the mountain doesn’t say a thing.” “He’s a moonshine guy in a six-pack world.”) People live whole lives in single lines. I’m proud to have been on the writing team, in consort with Jason and Warner, or Jason and Ginger (from England’s Ginger & the Wildhearts. No late name, just Ginger), or Warner and Dan, or Al, or everybody who contributed.

The rhythm section of Pontus Snib (drums) and Al Collins (bass) were the guys with the difficult gig here, as in having big shoes to fill. If anyone wants to come against me on my “best ever” claims over this new record, it would have to be how there will never be another Perry & Jeff, and that’s true. But there can be a rhythm section that rocks like hell all the same, which Pontus and Al do.

“These are golden days!” Jason sings in a voice that is joy itself. And they are. Will this record make you a 19-year-old Kappa Sig seeing Jason & the Nashville Scorchers open for R.E.M. at the 40-watt in Athens? No. But these are golden days. Growing older is not a bad thing. If it was, there wouldn’t be so much of it. Get this record if you’re a Scorcher fan, or better yet, give it to a friend. “God bless, God save, golden days!” Indeed.

God bless and Happy New Year,

Tommy

Rolling Stones "Exile On Main Street"

The world's greatest Rock And Roll Band is at it again. The big news is that the Rolling Stones are reissuing the landmark 1972 CD Exile On Main Street. What an amazing album, and what an amazing marketing campaign- look for the blitz in print, and on web, radio, and TV, among other places! Exile's street date is May 18, and there will be different levels of configuration available, including CD, DVD and vinyl.

I fondly remember when the album first came out, as I was a rock jock in Pittsburgh then and it was speaking my language. But in the even earlier Stones vs. Beatles debate of the 60s The Stones were IT for me from the beginning - pop craft versus roots exploration. I think you know which one I chose. In fact, my very first concert was the 1964 Rolling Stones date at the Academy Of Music in NYC. It was sheer screaming-girl-city. Hot stuff, indeed.

The Stones acted as a kind of a personal musical guide, pre-web gatekeepers. I got turned onto the blues through their first two albums, which set me on a path of exploration that resonates to this day. I softened to the sounds of country through tunes like  "Dear Doctor" and "Country Honk." Ironically, Keith coveted my Smithsonian Collection of Country Music Box Set when he came to my apartment on 58th Street in New York in 1984.

The Rolling Stones are a lifelong commitment for me, from the weaving through musical eras, to the countless tours, to the many writings about them. I especially recommend Under Their Thumb, from a buddy of mine, Bill German, the originator of the official Rolling Stones newsletter Beggars Banquet, and Exile On Main Street-A Season In Hell With The Rolling Stones by Robert Greenfield, that chronicles this difficult yet defining period. Let's not forget that these were the Gram Parsons hang out years too. I can only wonder as to the affect that Gram and Keith had on each other. The coming compilation features 10 newly uncovered Exile era tracks, all of which have undergone a unique evolution while staying true to the spirit, among them, "Dancing In The Light," "Following The River," "Pass The Wine" and the first single being released, "Plundered My Soul," Also, as a complement to the release of Exile on Main Street, look for the documentary "Stones In Exile," on NBC on May 14 featuring rare, never before seen footage from the era. Here is some now. Check out the video for "Plundered" here.

-Jessie

Will Kimbrough Takes Flight

New record Wings is a less-is-more triumph.

by Tommy Womack

Two decades ago, Will Kimbrough first captivated me - the old-fashioned way too, from hearing him on the radio. The song was “Typical World," a delicious late ‘80s jangle pop record if ever there was one. I hadn’t met him yet. Well, maybe once in Alabama, when Will and the Bushmen were playing the back outdoor stage of a club and Government Cheese was playing inside. Who knew a few years would pass and then I’d be in a band with him (the bis-quits), and 20-odd years later I’d be in a band with him again now (Daddy).

An uncommonly good guitarist even back in olden times, Will has since metamorphosed into the Alien, as fans call him. On thousands of stages, Will has amazed audiences with his scary fret board mastery (hence the nickname) and his impassioned and versatile voice. A fantastically natural and fluid musician, Will has gone on to become not just a marvelous songwriter with many eminently listenable solo CDs to his credit, but also one of the most in-demand session players in Nashville, a sought-out producer, and a road gig mainstay for the likes of Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider, and Jimmy Buffett.

Will now brings us his fifth solo record Wings, an understated, acoustic-based reflection on love and life. He continues the streamlining of his sound that began with his last release EP in 2008, coloring things (as he did then) with trace elements: some banjo here, a taste of slide guitar there, some female harmony, a tremolo six-string bass or distant keyboard, even horns once.

By turns Appalachian and Memphis soulful, the record reveals its gifts over time. The title track and “Three Angels” soar, abetted by Will’s diffident finger picking and the sweet harmonies of Lisa Oliver Gray from my own solo band (the best damn singer in Nashville and Will you can’t have her, she’s mine) “It Ain’t Cool” carries the warm wood-burning aroma of all the J.J. Cale listening Will’s been doing. Stalwarts in Will’s touring band Paul Griffith (another member of Daddy) and Tim Marks (often a member of Daddy) hold down the drums and bass respectively, taking gentle rein on the easygoing vibe of this record.

Will Kimbrough’s defining achievement as a musician is that he’s capable of playing literally anything on the guitar, but has always had the good sense not to – on his records at least. Rocks beat scissors, paper beats rock, and good songs beat hot-dogging.

Wings drops on February 23rd. For more information on how to purchase this puppy go to Will's Reverb Nation page, where you can listen to several of the songs, or directly to his website, where you can pre-order Wings and other cool things too. And of course there will be copies available via iTunes, Amazon, emusic, CD Baby and other online outlets.

I’m not sure sure an Aerosmith pun is the logical way to end this piece. But I’m going to go for it because Will deserves my best and most daring homage to gonzo prose, so here it is…

Will Kimbrough...Don’t you think it’s time to...Get Your “Wings?"

-Tommy

(The author is an incredibly interesting person currently living in Nashville, Tennessee.)