With Wynn Christian, on guitars and lead vocals, Quinn Borland on bass guitar, Eric Baath on piano and Hammond B-3 organ, and Patrick Lunceford on drums, the band has produced a CD with a bluesy, southern rock feel.  My first listen was very positive and I look forward to spending a bit more time with the songs on this CD.

The band are long-time friends of American Idol Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks.  Hicks co-wrote his recent single, “Seven Mile Breakdown” with Spoonful’s lead vocalist Wynn Christian.

You can listen to song samples at CDBaby.com and buy individual songs or the entire CD at CDBaby or on  iTunes.  You can also find a few songs in their entirety on the band’s myspace page.

Here are a few video samples:

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The Tejas Brothers bill themselves as Country/Rock/Blues, but they’ve got an accordion that speaks to my polka soul. Going for adds this week is “Boogie Woogie Mamacita.” Let this and a couple cervesas be the backdrop to your summer!

If you’re interested in listening to a guaranteed hit, try Gretchen Wilson’s new single, “The Earrings Song”. Unfortunately, she hasn’t found a new melody since her debut album, but this will please the fans to no end anyway.

Charla Corn is putting together an album by democracy: on her website, fans can “buy into” the album, rate demos, and help choose which songs make the cut. Here’s a video of the making of her single “Break My Heart Tonight”.

Depeche Mode releases their 12th studio album, Sounds of the Universe.

Sounds of the Universe

If you like dark humor, bluegrass and country “murder ballads”, you might already know about The Handsome Family. Their new release is Honey Moon. You can hear “When You Whispered” at AV Club.

Cambridge, MA band Chester French releases Love The Future today. They’ve got a solid alt-pop sound that can be both fun and interesting.

Love the Future

Aint No Rest For The Wicked – Cage The Elephant

In the “Blast from the Past” category, 60s Italian/country crooner Al Martino has released “Trying to Find My Way” to AC Radio. You can listen to a (very short) preview at CDBaby, and it’s supposed to be on iTunes soon as well.

Finally, released to College radio this week is Booker T’s “Potato Hole”, off the album of the same name (order by 4/21 and get an autographed copy). Booker is backed by the Drive-By Truckers and Neil Young. I couldn’t find a preview anywhere, but Amazon had an interesting video.

This song represents exactly what the Soul Patrol wants to hear: a cover of a Ray Charles song, although most of the fans are sure to prefer the live, less-enunciated version, complete with dancing and twitching. (I say that fondly; I would prefer that version, too.) It’s a simple arrangement of organs, drums, funky bass and, right up front as on the rest of the album, Hicks’ vocals. In the middle, he throws in a guitar that straddles country twang and Dick Dale-esque surf rock. I would not be averse to the live version exploring a surf beat for a few minutes. (Hint, hint.)

For those who might wonder, I haven’t played The Distance in its entirety since finishing my review, but the songs do come up frequently on my iTunes randomizer. I keep thinking “Once Upon A Lover” is The Mavericks when it comes up, at least until the vocals kick in. Other than that, many of the songs are slowly growing on me, but I can’t take them all at once. Nothing wrong with that, though!

Butterflies – Saving Jane

To my surprise and pleasure, vocals are to the forefront on Electric Arguments. To be specific, they are mostly Paul McCartney’s vocals; he has worked with UK musician Youth as The Fireman since 1993. The tracks are also in a more traditional “song” format than in previous releases. As a longtime McCartney fan, I get the distinct feeling that he is now using The Fireman to release songs he doesn’t feel confident releasing under his own name (even though everyone who listens to The Fireman knows it’s him), as they might not fit what longtime pop-Paul fans like. They are, overall, experimental as compared to his recent solo releases; however, as far as quality, Electric Arguments is at minimum on par with Chaos And Creation In The Backyard and completely blows away Memory Almost Full.

The first single, “Sing the Changes”, is easily my favorite track. The somewhat exotic intro gives way to what I can best describe as a “pop chant”. There is almost no melodic movement, the lyrics are repeated ad nauseam, but it is catchy and I always find myself bopping along to the beat. The video is at right. “Sun Is Shining” is more dynamic but still gives me the same happy feeling. There is a lot of uplifting on this album.

The Fireman have used a bit of harmonica in this release as well, not an instrument that I can recall McCartney using previously (maybe on “Run Devil Run”, a retro rock album). It lends a bluesy tone to “Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight” and “Highway”. Where “Nothing Too Much” is a more ambient jam, “Highway” is a blues-rock number that reminds me of several popular early-80s blues bands. The exploration of American niche genres continues with “Light From Your Lighthouse”, a jugband hymn that could easily be re-arranged into a modern worship song.

For those who do love a little dance and/or ambient, skip to the end of the album. “Is This Love”, “Lovers In A Dream”, “Universal Here, Everlasting Now”, and “Don’t Stop Running” are quite enjoyable and make an excellent backdrop for a run around the neighborhood (totaling over 26 minutes, they’re perfect for my short laps). “Don’t Stop Running” actually contains a “hidden” track after a lengthy pause; the last two minutes consist of a bit of spacey synthesized fun.

Overall, there isn’t a track on Electric Arguments that I don’t like. This isn’t going to be for everyone, but if you’re up for a bit of trip (the acid kind) it’s definitely worth checking out.

After completing my first play-through, in some mixed-up order thanks to iTunes being weird, I can say with confidence a few things. First, which I knew beforehand, the tracks brush several different genres, occasionally within the same song. Second, Hicks may become one of those artists (I am fond of several) whose music far exceeds their lyrics in quality; however, what is cringe-inducing today may become (like many of Paul McCartney’s lyrics) a cause for fondness in the future. Indeed, I already look back on much of Hicks’ Under the Radar in this state of mind.

My challenge in writing this review, as I will gladly confess, will be to strike a balance between forgiving the album’s various sins based on my fan status, and condemning Hicks based on any expectations I may have harbored over the past two years. Should anyone feel I have done either of these things, please feel free to call me out in the comments! On to the tracks…

“The Distance” immediately twangs country at me, the sort of bass-heavy alt-country that I actually listen to. The chorus rings 1970s anthemic. The verse lyric demands attention, a plea for neighbors, countrymen, and all peoples of Earth (here’s where the 70s anthem comes in) to realize we are more alike than not, and thus “The Distance between us fades away.” I do find it entertaining that these sorts of songs are always very musically jingoistic– I rather don’t expect to suddenly hear Arabic melodies and Czech rhythms– but I’m certain it’s meant to be uplifting, and indeed it is. My only question is about the short drumroll at the end. Huh?

“What’s Right Is Right” was the first single, released a month ahead of the album. As noted above, I did listen to it as soon as it was “leaked” (in quotes because it was a marketing strategy). It’s a MOR love ballad with a sax solo in the middle that doesn’t stray too far from the melody. There are some odd vocal phrasings that I am pretty certain are the result of digital splicing in the studio, and they can be jarring to my ear, although I have not seen any other such reactions, so maybe it’s just my hypersensitivity to that sort of thing. What I really like about this track is the Wurlitzer/B3 combo (I am a keyboard geek) and Nathan East’s bass line that seems to be more mobile than in most MOR arrangments.

“New Found Freedom” will be a sing-a-long song at concerts. Again we’re reaching into the anthemic, with a driving gospel chorus. At this point, I feel it necessary to point out that while the song has a lot of energy (may I say I am in love with Nathan East? The bass lines on this album are the shit), Hicks’ vocals only join in that energy occasionally. I realize that his strength is in live performance, and it has been said that he’s some kind of energy vampire that feeds on the audience, but he seriously needed a fire lit under his butt while recording. I’m getting more joy out of the (uncredited) backup singers.

The other early leak, “Nineteen”, is a story about a football player who gets a college scholarship, then joins the Army after 9/11. The last verse, ambiguous in lyric (the soldier he saved gives a speech in his honor, but it is uncertain whether it’s a eulogy, as the Purple Heart may be awarded for either being wounded or being killed in the line of duty), becomes less ambiguous with the slowing-down of the music and the plaintive “He was only nineteen” that ends the song. The song is quite definitely country and should play well on those stations despite our new era of Hope. (For a fascinating read about “cancer country”, which I think needs a co-genre of “soldier country”, try this 2007 Slate article.) It’s a good song, but I won’t be playing it often, since this stuff always makes me cry.

A tame, distant piano intro belies the pop-Latino-Caribbean syncopation of “Once Upon A Lover”. Anyone familiar with Hicks’ concert version of “Hold On To Your Love” will not be surprised at this attempt; however it will certainly confuse the uninitiated. The vocal highlights of this song are the trilled R in “Senorita” and Hicks’ largely sustained high range and falsetto. I also adore Brian Gallagher on flute. There seems to be (and this may just be the digital format) a lack of dynamic range in the vocal, and I hope there will be more along the lines of purring in live performances.

“Seven Mile Breakdown” will likely be familiar to denizens of the Birmingham music scene. A country blues jam co-written by Hicks and good friend Wynn Christian of Spoonful James, “Breakdown” has driving rhythms and a very familiar female backup vocal (Sharon White, as on most of the album, but it reminds me of Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock’s “Picture”). Here is where I finally hear the energy that I know lies latent in Taylor Hicks at all times, perhaps because he has such a strong bond to the song.

“Maybe You Should” is a modern yet timeless broken-hearted piano ballad. It has some absolutely gorgeous chord changes behind a pretty static melody. Lyrically, it is the first-person story of a man who thought he had true love, but perhaps does not. I would rather have seen this as the first single; misery sells, and it’s just a much better song– in terms of songwriting and in terms of recording– than “What’s Right Is Right”. I look forward to hearing it in concert; if Hicks learned to play the piano for it, I would probably die happy.

“Keepin’ It Real” is a fun New Orleans stride piano tune that (finally!) briefly features Hicks’ harmonica and sends up Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, O.J. Simpson, and the celebrity culture in general. One can conclude that it reflects Hicks’ desire to stay either under the paparazzi radar or above the superficial fray, although he rarely likes to actually clarify such things, letting his songs speak for themselves. This one could easily stand on its musical merits, bringing little new to the genre but reviving it for a new generation.

One starts to think, around the time that “I Live On A Battlefield” begins, that Hicks has rarely had a good relationship in his life. This funky groove is an exercise in metaphor, comparing a (mutually) destroyed love to a post-apocalyptic landscape. Hicks’ over-attack of the T’s in the phrase “Now shattered lord and battered/Lie scattered all around” lie in stark contrast to his lazy treatment of the line “My new home is a shell hole filled”, which I could not figure out until I read the lyrics, thankfully included in the booklet. (And he was doing really good on the enunciation until that point!)

If you’re looking for the goofy Hicks, you may almost find him in “Wedding Day Blues”. The enjoyable narrative finds our hero stealing a bride away from her own wedding– well, from the reception, booting the groom from the getaway limo and ravishing the bride…. but not before getting drunk and eating the cake, presumably before it was cut since he was then “asked… to leave”. While I wouldn’t recommend this as a way of getting your girl back, it does make for a good song, and the bluegrass fiddle playing the wedding march in the middle is a nice, if obvious, touch.

Rounding out the “official” album is “Woman’s Gotta Have It”, a tag-team remake of the Bobby Womack song featuring Hicks’ American Idol classmate Elliott Yamin. This old-school R&B slow jam shines, in my opinion, because of Yamin’s presence. Hicks has mentioned in interviews that he had Yamin come into the studio and they recorded together, and you can feel the way they played off each other. Hicks’ voice is more lively, and he graciously takes backing vocals while Yamin takes the lead on the second verse. Their harmonies are engaging and their voices complement each other quite pleasurably. Hicks has mentioned wanting to perform this song live with Yamin; my suggestion would be a co-headlining tour next year.

Hicks has annoyed his dedicated fans by releasing three “bonus tracks” to three different outlets. My download from iTunes included “Yes We Can”, an Allen Toussaint song that coincidentally echoes President Obama’s campaign motto. While I have no doubt that Hicks truly feels all of these happy “come together now” mottoes, and that is why he has included so many such songs on this album, the theme does get a bit repetitive. There is nothing wrong with the song, and the track is actually an old all-star recording over which Hicks has laid his vocal so I can’t complain about the musicianship. However, barring a USO tour (not a bad idea, actually, since Soul Patrollers have been inundating our troops with Hicks’ albums for years now) or a festival involving Willie Nelson or Bono, I can see little but fraternity fatigue for these songs in the future.

I’ve also managed to acquire the Target exclusive bonus track, “Indiscriminate Act of Kindness.” I can only assume that I’m broken, because while everyone on the fan boards seems to be emotionally devastated by this song, I started falling asleep before the first chorus. It stretches on for more than seven minutes. In an attempt to stay awake, I did some research on Foy Vance, the songwriter. “IAOK” was a B-side; the A-side was “Gabriel and the Vagabond”, which was used on Grey’s Anatomy, probably for one of those interminable montage sequences. I’ll grant that Hicks seems to be engaged with the source material, but that’s not enough to interest me.

Finally, I will not be reviewing the WalMart exclusive track at this time, because apparently none of the CDs actually made it to any of the stores. There is a rumor that people who pre-ordered the CD on WalMart.com will be getting their copies complete with “Hide Nor Hair”, but if things do not clear up soon, we may have to consider this a lesson learned about releasing four different versions of the same album. Apparently, I did hear “Hide Nor Hair” at the Baltimore shadow show last month, but I was sick throughout the performance and couldn’t tell you a thing about it. So my impression of the final bonus track will have to wait until A2M and WalMart get their act together.

For those who really didn’t like what I had to say here, please stay tuned for Mac’s review…

The EP includes “In The Valley Of The Dying Sun”, which has a delightful bass line. The middle is heavy in a way not often heard in modern music, then goes into church choir harmonies and a lighter melodic section, reminding me of the Beatles “She’s So Heavy/Golden Slumbers” for a moment.

“If”, another EP track, has a bouncy feel and prominent organ. It’s the first non-whiny love song I’ve heard in a long time, a catalog of all the things the protagonist would do or be or be capable of if she were his.

If – House of Heroes

If you like what you’ve heard here, download the EP or full album (free EP only available at Amazon).