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DEL MCCOURY BAND
The Family
Ceili
DEL MCCOURY BAND WITH
STEVE EARLE
The Mountain
E-Squared
After a two year wail, Del McCoury
returns with this aptly titled album, full
ol the high lonesome lenor he devel
oped playing with Bill Monroe in the
early 1960s Featuring Del on guitar
and lead vocals, his sons Ronnie and
Rob (on mandolin and banio. respec
tively). Jason Carter on fiddle and Mike
Bub on bass, the band snorts through
everything trom John Sebastian to. of
course, Monroe, with their slightly less-
than-frighttu 1 take ol "Gel on Your
Knees and Pray' The album shows
Del s full vocal range with the mid-
tempo. slightly modal "City of Slone,’
possibly the best tune here Listen to
any of this album and see why these
guys have received 24 IBMA
(International Bluegrass Music
Association) awards over the past few
years
Much belter yet is the Steve Earle
album This, folks, is the record he's
been heading toward ever since that
singer/songwnter-meets-Molly Hatchet
stuff he threw out on his first album. He
has mellowed, and has become at once
more crotchety and more embraceable
He makes the Del McCoury band play
raw. opens tunes with false starts and
sings about Appalachia as it his feet
were cut off and left there while the rest
of him was in the studio ’Harlan Man,’
driven by Earle's locomotive one-chord
mandolin, is open to anything, but
manages to leave out most ol it.
sticking with what matters The wallz-
tempoed title song is |ust beautiful
(Earle claims it's the best song he's
written)
Here and there. Earle and cohorts
cross rhythmic and melodic paths with
Noith Carolina iiddle tunes (*lProy$
Dustbowl Blues’) and drop The Pogues
and Paddy Killoran into the same slew
with ’Dixieland ’ Elsewhere, he duels
with Ins DeMent (kmda like Dolly and
Porter), picks a couple of instrumentals
that allow the band to show oft and
easily keeps Bill Monroe trom tossing
in his grave (Ceili 329 Rockland Rd.
Hendersonville. Tenn 37075)
Bruce Miller
CALVIN, DON’T JUMP
“Crumble/Solamente La Luna
Esta Noche" single
(Local Independent Release]
‘Crumble* is saccharine-sweet love
song in the vein ol a pre-war 78 Vidrola
record, complete with a Herb Alpert
horn section and banio It's more laid
back than a Country Time Lemonade
commercial
’Solamente La Luna Esta Noche* is
a nice little folksy number trom south of
the border I was really gelling into this
song and started craving some huevos
rancheros until t heard the Moog kick
in No oltense. but a banp and Moog go
together like a fhayo and peanut butter
sandwich, but maybe that's what their
hungry lor
All in all a nice little seven-inch to
help while away those lazy Sunday after
noons on the back porch (J. Kirk
Pleasant. 460 Sunset Drive. Athens. GA
30606)
Stephen Miko
fl LIVE REVIEWS ft
DONNA THE BUFFALO
Soturdoy, Jon, 27
toflef i. loone N C.
Touring behind their great new
album Rockin' in the Weary Land (their
first for Sugar Hill Records), Ithaca. N Y
combo Donna the Bortalo kicked aside
Boones winter doldrums in fine slyle
They make it South more than most
Northeastern bands, and have even
played Athens before (at the old
Downstairs) A considerable buzz about
this band has been rattling the hippie
underground grapevine in the last tew
years, and they have been likened, lor
better or worse, to me Gralelul Dead,
with whom they share elements of tradi
tional folk, country, rock, and R&B
But similar roots do not equal
botanical wonders make Donna the
Buffalo has found its own suund. adding
zydeco to the rootsy stew one might
associate with The Dead and their many
emulators The one thing Donna may be
said to share with the eminences ol
Haight-Ashbury is a penchant lor
playing amazingly long sets From the
star! of then set, they locked into their
trademark groove that swings without
ever breaking completely tree of the
tight structure only a vwrll honed sextet
can guarantee The best features ot this
impressive blend ol musicianship,
according to my delighted ears, are Jeb
Puryear's relaxed iusi a-good-guy
vocals, the plaintive singing, bddle. aid
accordion playing of lara Nevms. and
the lowrey organ played by Joe Thrift,
which pulses, bops and percolates
under the other instruments The rmw
rhythm section is heavy duty depend
able. especially in the ominous registers
Jed Greenberg s Rickenbacke: bass
reaches
The new albums songs were even
better m live performance, especially
'Conscious Evolution* and 'Tides of
lime ’ But in many ways tne slanoouls
were trom their very firs! album (of
thrw), recorded alt the way back in
1993 ’Push Comes to Shove* got the
dervish crowd moving as never before,
and Voice in My Head," stretched to
mind-boggling live performance length,
was the show-stopper, with its hypnotic
refrain ’I hear your voice in my
head/You're the greatest thing on two
legs." and the back-and-forth lead guitar
work ol Jeb Puryear and Jim Miller
Puryear more olten tackles the rhythm
duties, but both players season the mix
with ftavorlul runs and licks
Jim Winders
NEAL PATTMAN
Soturdoy, Feb 13
Die Greoi Ameuon Musk Hoi, Son Fromisro
I am always amazed that people at!
over the globe haven t heard ol Neal
Pattman whenever I travel away from
Athens It has always been a great frus
tration to me that my friends from far
away never experienced the mastery of
this authentic blues genius
The evening of this past Feb 13
began lor me with an ad show signing
with Peter Max at a gallery on the wharl,
Mr Max setting the tone for the night lo
come with his effusive warmth, hugging
and kissing all his admirers and signing
everything 'Love, Max' Then it was oil
lo the Great American Music Hall, the
most beautiful music venue in San Fran,
its interior monstrously ornate and awe
inspiring. yet with a warmth that rivals
even Max’s effusions The shadows ol
history dancmg off the relief of the
designs, Ikw to ceiling, poured out an
atmosphere ot the early, early limes of
biues and jazz
Everyone m the sold cut crowd was
downright hungry tor the mam course
the blues of the lorgoften masters
and the tieadlmcr. Tai Mahal Second on
the stage and by »ar the lop crowd
pleaser ol the evening was none other
Ifian Athens own Neal Pattman As il it
wasn t exciting enough to see napkins
scattered ail over this great historical
I>an Francisco venue with Neal's picture
and ’Neal 'Big Daddy' Pattman’
inscribed underneath, words cannot
describe the experience when he
stepped out onto that stage to the sheer
roar ol the crowd, wearing his sharp,
black sequmed vest and with his har
monica btanng as he stepped into the
spotlight Man. he shined like a super
nova The crowd went absolutely nuts It
was iusi Neal and his harmonica No
backup band — his harmonica and
breathing sounded like a wild band at
lull tilt I got chills just being pad of this
crowd's thrill of being treated to Neal
Pattmans red hot. intense and sterling
pedormance When he plowed into Tm
A Man" and hxed his gaze on a woman
in front of me who nad made her way lo
the edge ol the stage, she screamed at
the top of her lungs Only toward th*
last lour or five songs did anyone else
share the stage, and it was an upright
bass player who stepped up to Neal s
side and into the tune at the perfect
moment
“Sag Daddy* Pattmans pedormance
gained steam with each song, and the
crowd gained steam right along with
him His brand new tans in the crowd
poured out their excitement over this
wondedu! 73-year-old musician from
Athens an adist ol consummate skill at
our country's true native ad form After
his wildly applauded final tune, I man
aged to catch him at side stage to tell
him how proud I was lo see him here
and how incredible his performance
was He was really ta/zed to run into a
fellow Athens musician way out here on
such a rughl
The first lime I herd Neal Pattman
perform was in September 1993 when
John James and I had iusi founded
Thunder Wamper along with Dwayne
Holloway. Mike Bolin and St Joe lonno.
and w. opened tor Mr Pattman and his
band (and the Yams, who mviled us.
opened lor us) tor our very first show
which was at the Georgia Theatre Ever
since that night I had dreamed of seeing
this man get his due Well good God.
it s finally happening, and not one
nanosecond loo soon
Perry D Andrea |
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