Heart-stopping Southern soul from a Northern immigrant

Ohio native and Nashville immigrant Patrick Sweany makes rootsy sounds that are out of place on Music Row, but will be welcomed in the home of anyone who likes a side order of the ‘60s with their rock, soul, and blues. The album rolls through Southern soul, vintage rock ‘n’ roll and anguished R’n’B, dovetailing punchy production with memories of Delaney and Bonnie, Arthur Alexander and the throwback sounds of Marshall Crenshaw. The bass, drums and rhythm guitar bolster the melodic howl of Sweany’s voice; his singing is edgy, pleading, and emotionally raw from blue disappointment. The nostalgic “Rising Tide” hits a ‘70s rock groove that might have belonged to Bad Company, but the deep bass, funky horns, vamping organ and guitar figures of “The Edges” return the listener to the Memphis that Dan Penn laid on the Hacienda Brothers. The tour de force ballad “More and More” is given the Otis Redding treatment with hard percussive stops, while the acoustic plea “Frozen Lake” is gut-wrenching in the blue-soul of its romantic apprehension. Sweany is well-known as a guitarist and songwriter, and he bolster each accolade here, but it’s the deep well of emotion in every vocal that will make this record stick in your heart. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Frozen Lake
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Rock-solid southern rock

This Indiana-bred country-rock band is a real throwback to the southern rock of the 1970s. The quartet is looser, wilder, harder and seemingly less-calculated than redneck-rock acts like Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson, but they play to the same blue collar crowd. Their songs will strike a deep chord in a nation where political and business institutions seem to be at odds with the populace. The lead single, “Preachin’ to the Choir,” effectively expresses Joe Sixpack’s pent-up frustration without resorting to the divisive tropes of talking-head politics. It doesn’t pose any big solutions, but the opportunity to vent one’s frustration in a like-minded crowd, and in this case, an anthem-singing country-rock crowd, is quite cathartic.

There’s a nostalgic streak in the band’s songs, including the comforts of their childhood “Home,” and a satisfied recounting of their career in the optimistic “On Our Way.” They take you inside the legendary Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge in “33 Steps” (the title cleverly measuring the walk from the Grand Ol’ Opry) and to the track for the NASCAR-themed “Turn Left.” There’s hard-charging electric guitar twang on the upbeat tracks, but even when the band slows down for banjo, steel and mandolin additions, the bass, guitar and drums remain solid. There are songs of rowdy Saturdays (“Alright” and “Tip a Can”) and guilt-wracked Sundays (“Friend of Sinners”), love and sex. The latter, “Scratch Me Where I’m Itchin’,” opens with a great Johnny Winter-styled riff.

In addition to the original material, the band covers the Kentucky Headhunters “The One You Love” and closes the album with a strong cover of America’s “Sandman.” The latter, originally released in 1971, is repurposed to address America’s current military crises and conflicts. The song is played more heavily than the original, including a period-invoking electric sitar solo and a stinging guitar duel. The harmonies are sung with the power and stridency of CSN&Y’s anti-war songs, putting a serious end to an album that’s often lighter in topic. It’s a great way to end the album, and really shows off the group’s heartland grit, heart and soul. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

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Heavy Southern party rock

If Southern Rock, Heavy Metal and Arena Rock had mated in the mid-1970s, SwampDaWamp would have been the musical offspring. Gig Michaels’ vocals are gritty, the rhythm guitars thick, the lead playing sharp, and the bass and drums powerful and heavy. There’s a party vibe on the band’s third full-length release, but the core is red, white and blue-collar American rock ‘n’ roll. That latter identity is most fully embraced in the anthems “American Man” and “Rock This Country.” SwampDaWamp’s American experience includes ladies, wild nights, and cathouses, but they also spend a few songs pondering the economically dispossessed and a woman’s troubled path to the brink of suicide. Social consciousness aside, the album closes with “Stoned,” a celebration of artists whose muse has been stoked by grape and grass. It may not have the poetic context of Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” but it’s a good time, as is the group’s latest album. Now where’s the SwampDaWamp beer cozy for my PBR? [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Lady
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Funky southern rock and soul from 1974

Wet Willie hit simultaneous commercial and artistic high points on this 1974 album, their fourth of seven for the Capricorn label. The Mobile, Alabama band cuts a funkier, more gospel-inspired groove than its label mates, which included Southern rock standard bearers like the Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker Band, and their songs are more lyrically focused and concise. Singer Jimmy Hall has a rich, punchy delivery that often soars in a preacher’s shout, and the backing vocals of the Williettes give the group the Southern edge of Stax and Muscle Shoals. The album’s single, “Keep on Smiling,” offers a lasting message of optimism with a memorable rhythm guitar riff, sweet harmonica solo and a backing choir that lifts the song to the heavens. Though it was the group’s only trip to the pop top ten, it was far from the album’s only jewel, as the opener provides a warm celebration of country life, and the James Brown horn funk “Soul Sister” gives the Williettes a chance to step up front. Hall also sings blue-eyed soul, such as the homespun ballad “Alabama,” and digs deep on the mid-tempo “Lucy Was in Trouble.” The group’s follow-up, Dixie Rock, continued in the same vein, and the pair of albums were issued as a two-fer. If you dig the studio works, you should also check out the group’s live album Drippin’ Wet for a taste of their jams. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]