Swampeast Cigar Box, and a Lobo Cigar Box. Backing Rice and Stone on this self-produced project is drummer Dave Melyan, bassist Joseph Barton and Jimi Bott on tambourine. Bott, the award-winning blues drummer who has played with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and The Proven Ones, also recorded and mixed the record. The guys bust out in full rockabilly style
on “Hot Rod Mama”, both tearing it up on 6- string Washboards. The slide sounds terrific, and their vocals are dynamic. Melvan’s back- beat and Rice’s mesmerizing riff instills a re- laxed North Mississippi vibe to “Easy Rollin’ Down the Road”. Stone breaks out his har- monica on the delightfully cool retro track “Hoodoo Workin’ Overtime”. There’s a bit of a Howlin’ Wolf essence about this one that I adore. “Swamp East Boogie” puts a smile on my face with every listen as Stone lets loose on his SwampEast CBG. The Southeast Mis- souri area they sing about is very familiar to me. “Bad Blood on Mean Whiskey” has a menacing ambiance and a badass attitude that is irresistible. The grand finale of this splendid album
is a song called “Lobo Jam”. This four-and – a-half-minute instrumental jam consists of an edgy driving rhythm and lots of smoking slide guitar. I absolutely love it. This album is a must for blues and cigar box guitar fans.
-Phillip Smith
QUARTERNOTES by Michael Buffalo Smith
The Drive-By Truckers never cease to amaze me with their mazing gifts for song- writing- both lyrically and musically. Over the years, Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and com- pany have provided a source of never ending entertainment, parody, good humor and seri- ously thought provoking music. To this very day, I still cite Southern Rock Opera as one or the most genius pieces of theatrical audio
ever created. Their latest effort, The Unravel- ing (ATO) serves up even more of that wit, again still politically charged but turned in- ward this time. From the opening track, “Rosemary with a Bible and a Gun,” a song reminiscent of a hybrid between Bob Dylan and Neil Young, to the dark “Armageddon’s Back in Town,” the Truckers continue to serve up their political pizza piping hot, and if you’re not careful, that first big bite will burn your ass. It’s obvious from the outset that the boys are no fans of the Trump administration, and the commentary cuts both ways like a bowie knife. The music is pure Athens, Geor- gia swagger, often reminiscent of those early REM platters. “Heroin Again” has a real Rolling Stones vibe with a smoking hot slide guitar solo. There’s plenty of “The southern thing” as usual, including some percussive electric washboard in “Babies in Cages,” and the set closer, clocking in at nearly nine min- utes, “Awaiting Resurrection,” is downright heavy, with Hood grappling with religious im- agery as he watches the world slide quickly into darkness. If you’re looking for Marie Os- mond, you are in the wrong neck of the woods. This one is dark and honest, and a brilliant commentary on the world of 2020. . . In the words of Obi Wan Kenobi, “Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in quite some time.” I am speaking of Mr. David Clayton- Thomas, who was at one time the most vi- brant and exciting rock singer on the planet. This was during his run with Blood, Sweat and Tears in the 1960’s and early ‘70’s. In 2020. . . not so much. On his politically charged new album Say Something (Linus) David trades in the bombastic rock stylings of “Spinning Wheel” and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” for watered down pop vocals that just reek of misplaced political commen- tary. Someone should have sent him the memo to leave the protest songs to the pros like Dylan and Baez. I played the CD through once and tried my best to enjoy it but I just couldn’t. I even played it a second time. One
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