30 Best albums of 2011
27. Slim Bawb – Boo Dan. Both rootsy and inventive, Slim Bawb brings a whole rack of instruments to life, coaxing wild tunes out of just about anything with strings and bringing a cast of crazy characters to life with his streetwise, gravelly croon. Bluesy at it’s heart, rockabilly and Cajun around the edges, it’s a treasure worth digging up.
Slim Bawb (1 p.m.), Chris Ruest (6 p.m.) at Gruene Hall. It’s blues, etc., time at the old Hall. Slim Bawb Pearce, who plays just about everything with strings, sings and writes songs, and drummer Ron Sherrod play swampy, funky blues, country and more. The duo digs deep and gets to the primal meat of the musical matter. The latest Slim Bawb CD is “Boo Dan.” Ruest, an excellent slide guitarist, heads to the electric side of the blues road.
23. Slim Bawb – 88/44 Blues (Boo Dan) – Somewhere between a hillbilly, a bluesman, and a stripped-down psychedelic rocker, Bob Pearce has been kicking ass under the radar for years. On this hyper ode to a pistol-packing pianist, SB gives a hearty, dusty howl while his tumbling guitar licks recall shades of Merle Travis, JJ Cale, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and whatever else makes it from his mind to his remarkably adroit hands.
Slim Bawb - Boo Dan (Swampgrass, 2011)
With sleight of hand, Slim Bawb has slipped out a brand new album on an unsuspecting public, hot on the heels of his double-disc masterpiece "Calexiana," which, in turn, came out not quite so hot but pretty damn warm on the heels of his masterpiece "Hillbilly Fellini." When is he gonna stop? Will he ever run out of songs? One thing is for certain: swampedelic Cajun hick hop music, the product of Bawb’s musical genius, is on its way to an exclusive section in walk-in and on-line music emporiums everywhere.
When Slim Bawb (aka singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/humorist Bob Pearce) told me he was working on a new record, I told him to hold off a while. "Calexiana" had been out barely six months and still had plenty of mileage left on it. Stretch it out a bit. Let it breathe. Besides, I still hadn’t finished writing the review of that album I had promised him six months earlier.
Not long after that, Bawb called me and confessed that he didn’t heed my advice and had the new album in the can and ready to go to market. You see, he had this new drummer named Ron Sherrod and was anxious to get the two of them on record for posterity and public gratification. He had the songs and what the hell? Now he had the album.
When I first listened to "Boo Dan," two revelations immediately stuck in my mind. First, thank Gawd he didn’t listen to me! Secondly, I’d best keep my mouth shut from now on and let creative genius plow its own field. And Farmer Bawb plowed himself another brilliant one, a foot-stompin’, thought-provokin’ (if yer so inclined) baker’s ten- (that’s eleven) song collection with the pickin’, scratchin’, slidin’, note-bendin’ catchy tunes and clever lyrics that all together beget the signature Slim Bawb swampedelic sound.
With such a short break between "Boo Dan" and his previous album, "Calexiana," containing no less than thirty tunes on its two discs, you might expect this latest effort to sound hurried and thrown together in the studio with songs that had not reached their full fruition, but you’d be absolutely wrong. "Boo Dan" is a solid piece of craftsmanship, with the organic quality of your grandma’s vegetable garden - homegrown with loving care and reaped with well-deserved personal pride.
Ron Sherrod takes his seat at the drum kit following in the foot pedal steps of the skin-pounder who put the hick hop in the back beat, the one and only Gator Bait, and the two drummers bring a distinctly different style to the table. Bait’s approach is rudimentary and no-frills, essential to the music on "Hillbilly Fellini" and "Calexiana." Sherrod adds a N’awlins flavor to "Boo Dan," constantly filling in the basic beat with fluid rolls and other percussive embellishment. The common thread is that both Gator Bait and Ron Sherrod are exceptionally talented musicians, the kind you’d want behind you in your otherwise one-man band.
"Boo Dan" begins with the instrumental overture, "j’ai beson d’une biere," Cajun for "I need a beer." Lending an aura of symphonic majesty to the proceedings, the melody is borrowed from a song on "Hillbilly Fellini" with the title of, you guessed it, "I Need a Beer."
With a sophisticated opening like this, one might surmise that, with "Boo Dan," Slim Bawb has matured artistically. He hasn’t. "Big Easy" is back in Bawb country and bellying up on Bourbon Street, ready to "pull a hurricane through a plastic straw." The song, written by "partner in crime" Steve Judice and James Best, is one of only 2 and a half songs on the album that Bawb didn’t write or co-write. The lyrics are rife with colorful New Orleans references, including the ghost of Marie Laveau, the legendary 18th century Creole voodoo priestess who’s got, among other tools of the trade, "a bag of spells with a reservoir tip." Was she practicing safe sorcery? There’s also plenty of music scene name-dropping from the Nevilles and Preservation Hall Jazz band to splitting a case of Dixie beer with Marcia Ball.
The buoyant "Monkey Dance," with its elastic acoustic guitar cadence and rolling New Orleans-style drums, keeps the Cajun spirit in the fore with imagery of shining Creole moons and crawdad heads, and a chorus that bookends the English-spoken line "do the monkey dance," with Cajun verbiage that means, you guessed it, "do the monkey dance."
"Empty Chair" is a poignant ode to Bawb’s late father that contains elements of the Beatles’ occasionally somber tunes, performed here on banjo and bass rather than cello and violin, but with equal effect. The chair of the title is the iconic favorite sitting place of the deceased parent, and seeing it empty is the defining moment when the loss is fully comprehended and the detailed memories begin to flow. Bawb interweaves the melody line from "You Are My Sunshine," a favorite song of the elder Pearce, who was a professional yodeler and included that song in his repertoire. OK, I take back what I said about Bawb maturing artistically. This is an eloquently written, beautifully rendered song that respectably avoids the tear-jerking contrivances of many similarly-themed tunes.
The funky, dance-inducing "Stuck in the Swamp" is propelled by an invigorating drumbeat and scratching rhythm guitar, and is peppered throughout with quick vocal outbursts of the James Brown variety. Without skipping a beat, the song immediately segues into the equally funky "Trouble in Funkytown," scratching guitars and pulsating drumbeat intact.
"88/44 Blues," a title playing off that of the Robert Johnson classic "32/20 Blues," relates the story of a hapless saloon piano player whose hands are increasingly occupied by his pistol and, after he finds the Lord, his bible, thus interfering with his Professor Longhair-trained livelihood.
The poor bastard in the drunkard’s waltz "Gettin’ Over Me" can’t get past his own pitiful behavior in order to lament the loss of his lover. The foot-stompin’, good-time Cajun party song "Voodoo Wedding" is paired with a rare retelling of Jerry Reed’s swamp classic, "Amos Moses." The light-hearted lyrics of "Hurry Up & Wait," set to a breezy mandolin rhythm, depict a suitor inviting the punctually impaired object of his affection to join him in a mutually untimely relationship. Bawb grabs a rod and the tackle box to wrap up this festive outing with a hearty, banjo-enriched reading of Taj Mahal’s front porch favorite, "Fishin’ Blues."
There’s no shortage of fine playing and plenty of homegrown wit and wisdom to savor on "Boo Dan." Slim Bawb fans will not be disappointed. Newer listeners will surely become fans. And if you’re pleased by what you hear and yearn for more, check out the rest of Bawb’s quickly growing catalog of swampedelic Cajun classics, available on his website www.slimbawb.com or at a walk-in or on-line music emporium near you. (Just don’t ask me what section they put him in.) It’ll quench your thirst for good music, like drinking a case of Dixie with Marcia B.
Steve Cagle KVMR 89.5
On Aug. 6, the Friends of Conroe Inc., A&H Electric, the Judy Campbell family, KPFT and Ruthie Martin bring blue-eyed, soul/Texas honky tonk R&B legend Delbert McClinton and his eight-piece horn and harmonica-driven rock ’n’ roll orchestra to close out the 2011 Sounds of Texas Music Series at the historic Crighton Theatre.. Opening this concert will be Slim Bawb and his new drummer, Ron Sherrod who recently replaced GatorBait. Slim Bawb’s music is defined as “Swampadelic Cajun Hip Hop” that will have you dancing in the aisles and watching in amazement as Slim Bawb and Ron Sherrod march through the crowd doing the New Orleans second line wearing rubber Mexican wrestling masks and Slim Bawb playing the mandolin behind his head!
Slim Bawb – Calexiana (Swampgrass)
While not quite the "swampadelic Cajun hip-hop" it claims on the tin, there’s still much to be savoured on this latest two-disc offering from Bob "Slim Bawb" Pearce and his side-kick drummer James "Gator Bait" Curry. The main course of Calexiana is found on disc one where their basic two-man hillbilly attack force of guitars, banjos and drums is fleshed out by a big cast of friends adding extra layers of voices and instruments including violins and harmonica. In the process the default Cajun stomp is broadened into a range of countrified styles from gruff early Waits-style ballads ("Rose of Sharon", "Unchain My Heart") to country blues ("Blonde at the Bar"), bluegrass ("Little River Town", "Beehive Hairdo"), while with songs like "Last of the Old Geezaderos" they show more than a touch of Willie Nelson spirit via the Flying Burritos. Pearce’s own songs blend well with covers and traditionals in a varied collection that never gets too eclectic for its own good.
Disc two is an altogether rawer affair in which the two principals roar unaccompanied through fifteen (generally fast and furious) slices of back porch blues which might be a little rootsy for some tastes. They’re decent songs, enthusiastically delivered, however, and draw out more of the inner-rock singer in Bawb’s vocals. This should be well received by anyone unconvinced by Seasick Steve and looking out for a realer deal.
www.slimbawb.com
Neil B.
Third Coast Music Network tommy (the perfessor) with his top 10 from 09. 1.Keep Your Soul (Tribute to Doug Sahm) - VA 2. I'm That Way-Beth McKee 3. Hillbilly Fellini - Slim Bawb 4. Leap of Faith-Seth Walker 5. Last Exit to Happyland-Gurf Morlix 6. Borders y Bailes - Los Texmaniacs 7. This is Tommy Duncan-Billy Mata and Texas Tradition 8.Hit Tha...t Jive-Shout,Sister,Shout 9.Welcome Home-Shelley King 10.Vive L'Amour - Bonsoir Catin
SLIM BAWB – Hillbilly Fellini
Bawb’s self-produced album has much in common with the beloved beverage immortalized in his former band name, the Beer Dawgs. In each case, combining a few simple ingredients in perfect measure with skill and loving care results in a unique and flavorful product that transcends the basic elements it came from. Drawing from an amalgam of music genres to create a root stew he calls “swampgrass,” Slim Bawb applies the bare minimum of instrumentation needed to produce a sound bigger than the sum of its parts. Add his gravelly, no-frills yet sincere and honest vocals singing simple and straightforward lyrics that speak volumes, and you have a hand-crafted, beautifully under-produced home-brewed masterpiece. The music flows with ease from the trance-inducing drum/banjo beat of the opening title song to the velvety pedal steel note-bending of the closing rendition of “Georgia On My Mind,” with every song in between a highlight in its own right.
Steve Cagle KVMR FM Nevada City CA
LISTENERS’ GUIDE – Dec 09 / Jan 10 - RECORD REVIEWS
SLIM BAWB - Hillbilly Fellini
slim-bawb-and-gator-bait
Slim Bawb (Bob Pearce on national steel, mandolin, banjo, bass, and sometimes pedal steel and who knows what all else) and Gator Bait (James Curry, who once played with Blue Cheer, on drums) are still members of the Bay Area (that’s California) band the Beer Dogs (they play at least one show a year to roaring crowds). But the gold in California has turned to pyrite, and so our adventurous duo wagon trained to Austin a few years back. Bob plays often with the Texas Sapphires, and Rebecca Lucille Cannon and Justin Kolb both lend their talents to “Hillbilly Fellini,” which opens the disc with Bawb on banjo (I would swear this is a song about the Beer Dogs): “First they play a two-step, then they play a Cajun waltz … if you don’t dance, it’s your own fault.” And, yeah, Bawb plays banjo!
Slim Bawb’s gruff voice sounds like another instrument when he sings and plays live — as I saw the duo out in Elgin the other night. These guys are seasoned musicians (grizzled and travel-worn) who are a lot of fun and have a lot to sing about. With so many weapons at his disposal, Slim Bawb can make the twosome sound like Scott H. Biram sometimes and like Tom Waits at others.
Musicians on this record include Bastrop’s Tres Womack (Slim Bawb does live in Cedar Creek), Charlie Irwin, fiddler Josh Drogemueller, Perry Rowe, Kat Kairns, Bo Ely, Dave Moats, Ron Sherrod, Steve Stizzo, and Flaco Jimenez on “Barcelona Rain.” The record is strewn through and through with Cajun music (”Louisiana,” notably — and quite a story can be found in this song), even though Bob has never lived there or even (so he says) played a Slim Bawb show in the Bayou State.
“Sophistikuts” is another song about a music venue, “a small town place” where “you can drink and you can cuss and you can know who you can really trust.” Sounds like Sam’s Town Point, a joint that this band ought to KILL in. “Black Jack Road” gets busy with the pedal steel and dobro — and Gator Bait’s percussive drumming (never overpowers, just keeps the beat interesting). One of my favorites here is “Bourbon Cowboy,” even though I only drink Irish whiskey (and that for medicinal purposes). Beer lovers get “I Need a Beer,” “No Bar Too Far,” and really the whole record. This is danceable music, drinking music, and music to laugh and tell tall tales with your friends to. As the boys close the bar, the final song of the night (choose your partner and hold her close) is a rendition of “Georgia on My Mind” heavily laden with Bawb’s dobro. One final note — Bawb says that Rebecca Lucille is back with the Texas Sapphires after a “brief” leave of absence (girls just gotta have fun). And that, too, is very good news.
Bob Pearce a.k.a. Malignant Bawb and drummer James Curry a.k.a. Gator Bait form the pin of this cd, completed with bass player Charlie Irwin on several numbers and changing gastmuzikanten, among which even Flaco Jimenez in Barcelona Rain. Live stepping them generally as a two-high rolling mill, with worstel-maskers on their head. The indication Hillbilly in the title does not appear there for nothing, because the banjos, mandolines, dobro and fiddles fly your sometimes litteral for the ears, so that whole the sometimes high bluegrass get quality. Toch it is more than that, this are no traditional bluegrass such as we that hear as much as more. Bob Pearce mixes there rock, blues and so much more doorheen, so that whole captivating and fresh remains. Joint thereby a voice with a delicious grit and it assumes the more direction link such as The link, The Gourds and Bottle Rockets. Louisiana for example are this way contagious rockend, already whole only on a mandoline, obtuse box, Gatorbait's float drums and of course those prachtstem of Bawb. In stop ace or Sin the hoedown quality are then very high, this is Deliverence on speed, but oh this way contagious! Black jacket Road let hear our Bob on dobro, pedal stalk, resonator and still a lot of a more, splendour of a song which illuminates which other, what squares more Americana of malignant Bawb. Barcelona Rain as said a song with aid of Flaco on accordion and has natural conjunto kantjes. A second song with what the same environment is I Need A bear, also Mexican accordion consonances here in this number with pleasant tempowisselingen. Steve Stizzo take however of Flaco. By this Mexican sounding songs we get alternation still more. To complain be possible we of this certainly, already do not have influence concerning the entire cd the bluegrass what the bovenhand gets, in Short Change we bluesy resonator and ditto sfeertje. Spirits seems also the red leiddraad doorheen the cd, because it terrible country getinte Bourbon follows cowboy shortly after No bar To Far and the higher mentioned I Need A bear. All three very nice songs moreover. Initially is called Dawgs the first version of its link also The bear, and decorates hundreds empty bierblikjes the cover. Malignant Bawb conclude with Hoagy Carmicheal's Georgia on My Mind. Already Ray Charles this made song unforgettable and put down he of it the definite version. These bluesy, sober version on resonator and obtuse box if percussion passes element, Bob's vocal over-performance for me on the Second place. The pedal stalk of Nathan Fleming entirely on end finish t entirely. Splendid slotsong for alternation-full cd on which is with difficulty a label to stick. To let we t for all freedom Americana (with a capital letter) call.
Slim Bawb and Friends offer ‘Hillbilly Fellini’
BY TERRY HAGERTY
The Bastrop Advertiser
“Hillbilly Fellini”, A new album by Cedar Creek’s “Slim Bawb” Pearce has the feel of a late night drive through the Louisiana swamp.
Pearce, who prefers to go by ‘Slim Bawb’, is actually a California transplant, a talented multi- instrumentalist with a deep throaty vocal.
And he brings into a play a range of Bastrop area musicians as well as a guest appearance by Flaco Jimenez on accordion for the second cut of the album, “Barcelona Rain”.
Slim Bawb has been playing regularly around the area with his regular playing partner – drummer James Curry. They have a regular gig at the Water Hole, a popular music venue just a few yards west of the Bastrop/Travis county line.
The duo, with Slim Bawb playing more than a half dozen instruments at various times, puts out quite a sound. (Curry, also a California transplant, once played drums for the 60’s rock group Blue Cheer, known for their blistering version, and a record hit, of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues”.)
But on “Hillbilly Fellini”, Slim Bawb has substantially upped his musical contributors, with talented local and Central Texas area musicians backing him up. They include Bastrop’s Tres Womack, who has his own fine band, Perry Rowe, Josh Drogemueller (an outstanding fiddle player), Charlie Irwin, Kat Kairns, Bo Ely, Justin Kolb, Dave Moats, Rebecca Cannon, Ron Sherrrod and Steve Stizzo, among others.
The album was produced by Billy Black and recorded and mastered by Fred Bouchet at Swamp Studio in Cedar Creek using Roland gear, according to album notes.
The opening number, also titled “Hillbilly Fellini”, has Bawb cranking away on the banjo, talking about “playing down at the Stumble Inn”, and “Ole Roy bangin’ on the skins”. Tres Womack backs Bawb up on the vocals.
Jimenez’s accordion playing is one of the highlights of the second cut, “Barcelona Rain”.
Drogemueller’s fiddle playing on the third cut, “Sophistikuts”, reinforces the notion that he is perhaps one of the best fiddle players in Texas, combining sheer clarity of sound (also evident during regular club performances at Big Mouth) with emotive playing.
If the singing and playing talent of Slim Bawb and his ensembles-which vary from song to song- don’t grab the listener, the tunes’ titles should: Besides the aforementioned title cut, there’s “Black Jack Road”, “Farmers Tan”, “Bourbon Cowboy” with the line, “Some people say I’m down right crazy. . .but I never had no problems finding ladies”, “No Bar Too Far” and a stirring version of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia on my Mind”.
To catch up with Slim Bawb’s playing calendar, see his web site: Slimbawb.com.
Slim Bawb is a member of a long running Sacramento,Calif band called the Beer Dawgs. But he decided to branch out a little and release a solo album. Ghost Dawg is based on a true story about Bawb's lost dog who kept walking thru homeless people's camps along the Sacramento River. The dog would never accept food,just keep on walking thru. But this album is a nice bluegrass/country mix. Starting w/the title track,Bawb's raspy and raw blues-tinged voices zips along,mixing huge horn sections and sad strings to create a wonderful CD. Bawb's voice is rough and will take time to get used to hearing,but stick w/it,its worth listening too....recommended!...
Rating 5 of 5 (see web site for full review) http://www.befuddled.org/2006/02/tuesday_tea_wit.html:... This CD is only a couple Lagniappe's shy of being perfect, and I plan on bumming more than just a couple beers off Slim Bawb, when I see him at his CD release party this coming June. So, Slim Bawb & Gator Bait get a rating of 5 for their Ghost Dawg CD. (5 plus two cold ones is as near perfect as it gets.) - Tim Null..... Rating 7 of 10 Patrick Wilkins americana-uk.com:... Slim Bawb is Bob Pearce, main man in the Sacramento based Beer Dawgs for getting on for a couple of decades, backed by a pair of co conspirators called Gator Bait. From that background you would figure Bob knows what he's doing, and you'd be right. Self described as 'swampgrass' music, this album is a mish mash of roots influences, bluegrass, blues, zydeco, country, and even some alt.country. Listing the instruments Bob plays gives you a reasonable idea how this is going to go, 'Banjo, guitar, mandolin, dobro, hambone, mojo stomp', Gator Bait provide double bass and fiddle. Bob has a fine croaky voice that sounds like a morning after Lowell George, and the songs do have the odd unexpected quirk, 'He Don’t Talk About That' ends with (supposedly)Kenny Rogers yodelling! 'That Dawg Don't Hunt’ adds some sax to an uptempo bluesy mix, and with slide guitar also thrown in, sounds a little like the sadly departed Chris Whitley. With 14 songs sprawling over 57 minutes it's a too much to eat in one sitting, but very satisfying if you take it in bite size chunks.
What do you do for fun when you’re in a band that plays almost every night of the week? Well, if that band is the Beer Dawgs, apparently you start a musical side project, record an album and find time to squeeze in some more live shows. That’s what Bawb Dawg did. He put together this little Cajun/bluegrass flavored combo called Slim Bawb and recorded this finger pickin’ good little nugget. Aside from Andrew Browne on bass, and Olen Dillingham on fiddle, all the pluckin’ is Bawb. Banjo, guitar, mandolin, dobro… and also some hambone and a little something called the mojo stomp for good measure. Horn Dawg Otis Mourning supplies the occasional sax, bass clarinet and accordion. With these guys the musicianship is always top notch, but the real treat of a guest performer is Bawb’s dad, Bob Pearce, Sr. who yodels up a storm on “Chime Bells”. Ultimately, though, this is Bawb’s album. Anyone familiar with Bawb’s sweet raspy voice already knows how nicely it works with a cajun-blues, as the Beer Dawgs stray in that direction every once in a while, and on songs like “New Ghost Town” and “Song Save Me” Bawb is as good as ever. Even takes on a little French lyric with “Mon Pere” with lovely results. With “You Better Rest” the CD takes a brief funky detour that is all hand claps and stomping (the mojo stomp perhaps?) but it gets right back to the gritty/pretty with “New Promised Land”, a surreal little character piece in a Blood On The Tracks vein. Bawb closes out the CD with the goofy honky-tonk styled nod to drinking too much and then declaring “I’m Phime”. Fans of the Beer Dawgs (and God knows there are a ton of you) would be quite neglectful not to have this release, but the same goes for fans of a more bluesy styled bluegrass. Bawb is truly in his element here, and until he finds time for a third project, you’re just gonna have to make do with Slim Bawb and the Beer Dawgs playing 8 days a week.
Slim Bawb
HILLBILLY FELLINI
©2009 Swampgrass Records
Review by Lucky Boyd
Co-founder, MyTexasMusic.com
What Southern Culture on the Skids did for rockabilly, Slim Bawb has done for bluegrass, zydeco, country, and the blues. Not since Reese’s dropped peanut butter into chocolate have we experienced such a smooth blending of staple favorites. Features of mandolin and banjo intertwined into blues and even rock rhythms make for one of the most interesting albums of the year. Bawb is Bob Pearce and the persona is in tact throughout as Pearce pens eight of the cuts, co-writes three, two with fellow MTM member Bob Cheevers. You’ll even hear left-turn takes on “Oh Lonesome Me” and “Georgia On My Mind.” The true hero of the album is the music as Slim Bawb takes you on a journey that introduces you to ‘swampgrass,’ a term you’re going to hear more about as time goes on. Described by some as a marriage between bluegrass and bayou music made popular in Louisiana, and depicted by others as a concoction of delta blues and Kentucky bluegrass, true ‘swampgrass’ encompasses the swampiness of southern blues, the dance factor of zydeco, the instrumentation of bluegrass, and the rhythm section of R&B, country or rock. It’s a coat of many colors, not just influences, but the actual expression in some form of all the aforementioned styles…. together….at once. It takes a special musician to pull it off, too. Pearce is a multi-album veteran of the West Coast music scene who finally found his calling as a Texan. He picks up musical styles and makes them his own much like tracking mud in on your shoes. Regardless of the style, the more he’s exposed to it, the more it sticks to him, and the more it shows up in his music. The disc is a feel good release with no downers per se, and no filler at all. Every track is a gem and listeners will see right through the mock redneck sachet to the musical genius inside. Musicians who hear this disc will be lining up to play on the next CD as Bawb sounds like he would be loads of fun to perform with. It’s almost a shame to pay him for this disc because it doesn’t sound like it was work for him; it was all play time and fun. The result of the fun, however, is a honed-to-perfection album that will spend more than its allotted time in your player. On tunes like “Short Change” you’ll find yourself tapping along and relating quickly to Bawb’s character development. Shout out to fellow MTM member Tres Womack for appearing on the album, and kudos to Fred, who appears courtesy of his agent, who is most likely preparing the new contracts as we speak. Musically sound, well-written, and expertly performed, Slim Bawb may have released the perfect blue-country-zyd-a-grass… well, you get the picture.
Bob Pearce a.k.a. Malignant Bawb and drummer James Curry a.k.a. Gator Bait form the pin of this cd, completed with bass player Charlie Irwin on several numbers and changing gastmuzikanten, among which even Flaco Jimenez in Barcelona Rain. Live stepping them generally as a two-high rolling mill, with worstel-maskers on their head. The indication Hillbilly in the title does not appear there for nothing, because the banjos, mandolines, dobro and fiddles fly your sometimes litteral for the ears, so that whole the sometimes high bluegrass get quality. Toch it is more than that, this are no traditional bluegrass such as we that hear as much as more. Bob Pearce mixes there rock, blues and so much more doorheen, so that whole captivating and fresh remains. Joint thereby a voice with a delicious grit and it assumes the more direction link such as The link, The Gourds and Bottle Rockets. Louisiana for example are this way contagious rockend, already whole only on a mandoline, obtuse box, Gatorbait's float drums and of course those prachtstem of Bawb. In stop ace or Sin the hoedown quality are then very high, this is Deliverence on speed, but oh this way contagious! Black jacket Road let hear our Bob on dobro, pedal stalk, resonator and still a lot of a more, splendour of a song which illuminates which other, what squares more Americana of malignant Bawb. Barcelona Rain as said a song with aid of Flaco on accordion and has natural conjunto kantjes. A second song with what the same environment is I Need A bear, also Mexican accordion consonances here in this number with pleasant tempowisselingen. Steve Stizzo take however of Flaco. By this Mexican sounding songs we get alternation still more. To complain be possible we of this certainly, already do not have influence concerning the entire cd the bluegrass what the bovenhand gets, in Short Change we bluesy resonator and ditto sfeertje. Spirits seems also the red leiddraad doorheen the cd, because it terrible country getinte Bourbon follows cowboy shortly after No bar To Far and the higher mentioned I Need A bear. All three very nice songs moreover. Initially is called Dawgs the first version of its link also The bear, and decorates hundreds empty bierblikjes the cover. Malignant Bawb conclude with Hoagy Carmicheal's Georgia on My Mind. Already Ray Charles this made song unforgettable and put down he of it the definite version. These bluesy, sober version on resonator and obtuse box if percussion passes element, Bob's vocal over-performance for me on the Second place. The pedal stalk of Nathan Fleming entirely on end finish t entirely. Splendid slotsong for alternation-full cd on which is with difficulty a label to stick. To let we t for all freedom Americana (with a capital letter) call.
Ron – rootstime.be
Belgium