In the history of Farce the Music, I've only done about three proper reviews of albums. Usually, I'm laying on the derision and snarkiness and generally making a fool of myself and my subjects. In the past, I've felt as though doing reviews would be a sellout of the premise of FTM, but this year I've resolved that if I'm going to continue pointing out the shortcomings of mainstream music (country in particular), then I'm going to have to be a tiny bit of the solution as well.
Never you fear, FTM will not become a review site, a vehicle for genre promotion or a shill for any band that emails me an album. I just want to take a moment each month to let you know about some good music that's out there, usually beyond the mainstream.
You don't expect "the usual" from FTM, so don't expect the usual reviews. I doubt many of them will exceed twenty sentences. There will be no Pitchforkian references and no music-snob contempt for the reader or people who'd dare listen to commercial radio. There will be few five-dollar words. There will be no butt-kissing, despite the fact that I'll only be writing about stuff I enjoy.
While I did well in my college English courses, I am not a trained writer, nor a music historian by any stretch of the imagination. I just love good music. As such, you can expect pretty "regular guy" reviews here. The only difference is that my taste skews a little left of center from the average joe... but that's where a lot of the best music is. I know what I like and I'll try to convey that to you and hopefully you'll find something you never knew you'd enjoy!
As I stated earlier, these will only be once or twice a month, tops. Here's the first!
Great American Taxi - Reckless Habits
Release: Tuesday, March 2
This is good-time music... sitting at a Bourbon Street bar, sipping a pale ale with sweat dripping down your cheek, tapping your foot to the tune without a worry in the world music.
It's a laid back and loose session, skillfully reined by great musicianship. Country, bar rock, jazz, bluegrass, country rock and jam band are all hanging together under the big tent of Reckless Habits. There's a little twang for the hicks, a little sonic stew for the hippies and a lot of fun for us all. I hear 70's Jimmy Buffet, Grateful Dead by way of The Byrds, some Dr. John and early Wilco in their music.
"One of These Days" leads off the album with an ode to the Big Easy. It's a piano plunking, trumpet punctuated singalong that rolls along like the paddlewheel of a riverboat. Speaking of Wilco, Great American Taxi turns in a fantastic take on (members of Wilco's former band) Uncle Tupelo's "New Madrid," giving it a more thoughtful emotional context. "Unpromised Land" wouldn't sound out of place on a Steeldrivers album, with its rollicking, banjo-driven newgrass. The title track is a steel guitar laden country song that wouldn't sound out of place on a honky-tonk jukebox. Even the most lightweight song on the album, "Tough Job," still makes you want to get up and shake a buzzed leg.
Reckless Habits is a swampy boogie, entertaining enough to likely be accessible to all but the most mainstream of tastes. Fans of the Black Crowes, Widespread Panic, Old Crow Medicine Show, Delbert McClinton, Gram Parsons and Dr. John should definitely grant this record an ear.
Free, legal download: One of These Days
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