Month: February 2013

It’s hard to say which event stirs more anticipation, a new Bill Frisell solo album or a new project featuring him in an accompanying role. The guitarist is in demand as much for the way he listens as for the way he plays. A “short list” of people Frisell has played with includes Jim Hall, Lucinda Williams, Ginger Baker, Charlie Haden, David Sanborn, Marianne Faithful, Elvis Costello, Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Rickie Lee Jones, Joe Lovano, Viktor Krauss, Mike Stern, Lyle Mays, and Danny Barnes. He gets such varied calls not because he’s a Tedesco-like chameleon but because, in his case, uniqueness equals versatility. He invariably plays something different and unexpected, but it always somehow fits whatever environment he’s placed in.

Frisell played on Cantuaria’s Tucuma (1999) and 2001’s Vinicius (Cliché Do Cliché), and Cantuaria (whose credits include Los Super Seven, Marc Ribot, Brian Eno, Arto Lindsay, Brad Mehldau, and David Byrne) previously appeared on Frisell’s 2003 album Intercontinentals. But this is their first full-fledged collaborative project.

All 10 songs were co-written by the pair of 60-year-olds, with Brazilian Cantuaria writing the lyrics (in English, Spanish, and Portuguese) and both fleshing out the music – the sole instruments being their guitars (Cantuaria’s gut-string and Frisell’s electric and acoustic), with Frisell’s occasional loops and Cantuaria doubling on percussion.

The title song (which translates to “Mexican Tears”) is a hypnotic cumbia, while the breezy bossa nova of “Briga De Namorados” takes a sudden left turn into dark dissonance. A wah-wah funk line doesn’t jar “Mi Declaracion,” nor do Frisell’s distorted loops clash with his deep twang (and extra-widetremolo) on “El Camino.”

Not surprisingly, they turn a multitude of rhythms, textures, and melodies into a brand-new but cohesive whole.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s June ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

If you like your rock and roll loud and with no-frills, you’ll love The Steepwater Band. A trio with plenty of great influences, the 14 cuts on this live disc touch on blues, pop, and plenty of soul.

Guitarist/singer Jeff Massey is the focal point, and his slide playing is the predominant element much of the time. His tone is as Gibson-esque as you could get on tunes like “Fire Away,” where a descending chord sequence turns into a soulful rock solo. The band (Tod Bowers on bass and Joe Winters on drums) can write a song that sounds new and intimately familiar all at the same time. “All the Way to Nowhere” is a riff-driven tune that proves it. “The Stars Look Good Tonight” is a hook-driven pop-rocker with crunchy chords and an arpeggiodriven solo.

The Steepwater Band is carrying on a tradition, of sorts, and the appreciative audience here knows that. This is music with big guitar riffs, fine solos, great lyrics, and gritty vocals.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s June ’11 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

This North Carolina-based band makes its own rules. Call their music bluegrass or newgrass, Southern rock, hippie country, or anything else, and it’s still refreshingly original music from a quintet whose members must have kept their ears and minds open to a variety of musical sounds.

“Sweet Water” starts out like a James Gang outtake and builds to a crescendo of Brian Paul Swank’s speed-picked banjo, Metteo Recchio’s Stratocaster, and a Dixielandstyled horn section. Everyone gets room to move, but the tune stops safely shy from being a showcase for pointless showing off. Despite drums and another brilliant electric solo from Recchio, “Love Light” is rooted in traditional bluegrass. The connection is aided by a perfunctory but significant acoustic guitar break from singer Daniel Smith and another strong performance from Swank. The instrumental “Air Bellows Gap” features some nice interplay between Smith’s acoustic, Recchio’s electric, and guest Nicky Sanders’ fiddle. It’s one of several cuts here – “Southern Hospitality” being another good example – that find Smith and Recchio engaged in a friendly contest for Most Valuable Picker. It also has its base in bluegrass, but it would have had a different flavor if the band hadn’t picked up on Charlie Daniels and Dickey Betts at some point. It’s that kind of musical alchemy that makes Appalachian Rock, the band’s selfapplied label for its music, ring true.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s March ’12 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

“Mixed bag” would be an understatement regarding this tribute to the Texas trio. Two important elements that you have to understand to do ZZ Top’s music: humor and sex. Some of the artists here get that.

The M.O.B., a super group made up of Steven Tyler, Jonny Lang, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie, winks their collective eye at you on a cover of “Sharp Dressed Man.” Tyler’s leering vocal and Lang’s fiery guitar drive the tune perfectly. Country artist Jamey Johnson turns “La Grange” into a jam tune with guitar from Billy Gibbons (is it legal for an artist to be on a tribute album dedicated to him?) and pedal steel from “Cowboy” Eddie Long.

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals do an interesting job with “Tush,” the gender bending alone supplying the sex appeal along with Scott Tournet’s guitar playing. Duff McKagan’s Loaded handles “Got Me Under Pressure” perfectly, sounding like a band that is used to getting the dancers up at a bar. Other noteworthy appearances include Wolfmother’s “Cheap Sunglasses” and “Just Got Paid” from Mastodon, with a helping hand again from Gibbons.

Several of the covers don’t work on a number of levels. Nickelback’s take on “Legs” is overbearing in the worst way. An ode to the female anatomy gets an extremely serious arena rock treatment that takes all the fun out of the song. And Daughtry’s “Waitin’ For The Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago” is dull and ordinary in a way that hundreds of bar bands could have delivered.

Finally, the diversity of artists listed above should be noted. The appeal of Gibbons, Hill, and Beard, even if the songs don’t always work, reaches far and wide on the music spectrum.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s March ’12 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.