Charlie-Guns-A-Blazin'

Driving home in the snow from Chicago, everybody on the interstate hunkers down to a 45 mph trudge. Its the first snow that sticks so its best to give the road the benefit of the doubt. Of course every now and then some nut job in a big ol fatcat of a pickup truck blows by as if its sunny and seventy. I've got one hand on the wheel, peering over the dash while I'm reaching on the floor, searching for some take me home tunes and out comes Kindred Spirits.
My knowledge of Charlie Robison has been limited up to this point but his take on
Don't Take Your Guns To Town just wales. The way that dirty Fender kerrangs on the intro and that crying pedal steel with that great little story on top of it. Nice work, Charlie.
Dwight's horn driven opener, Understand Your Man is a great rave-up with a warm an punchy bass and kick drum pounding on your chest.
Speaking of rhythm sections, Jesse Boyce on bass and John Ferraro on drums cook nicely with Little Richard on Johnny's Get Rhythm. It's not difficult to single these two out on this cut, they're the ones responsible for your thrusting pelvis.

This being a Marty Stuart project, he turns up through out and contributes this diesel train's
Hey Porter.
Springsteen gives a haunting Give My Love To Rose and Steve Earle's story teller, Hardin Wouldn't Run wrap up my favorites on this disc.
This record stands up well for being 8 years old.
Nice work Marty Stuart. And bless you Johnny Cash!

Turn It Up

I gotta tell ya, it's a refreshing kick in the pants to hear a different slant behind the boards of Dwight Yoakam's Blame The Vain. What?...What's that?...Well of course I know it was released four years ago! Anyway, I'm not taking anything away from Pete Anderson, after all, he's had as much say in Mr. Yoakam's DNA as anybody. Going as far back as their early 80's gigs with Los Lobos, X and The Blasters.
Not only is there new production scenery, but the GUITARS, holy crap, theres some new giddy-up
right there mister. And again, not to poo poo Pete, but this guy could sear a hole through a bridge girder.
We saw the touring band at a casino in Mt. Pleasant and even though the crowd was a bit subdued, the band was Marine Corps. tight and butt rockin'.
Still present were long time stalwart bottom thumper: Taras Prodaniuk, ivory tickler: Skip Edwards, mandolin/fiddler: Scott Joss and looks like full-timer on drums: Mitch Marine.
DY cranks it up early with the title track, Blame The Vain, as a mid-tempo, rowdy line dancer's dream. Intentional Heartache leads in as a 60's, bongo charged, Bakersfield rave-up. Does It Show, mournful, vintage, straight up honky tonk. Now Three Good Reasons is just a rockin shuffle thats got that chunky, chuggin, I ain't bashful rythym guitar mixed up front where it ought to be and if your butt don't bounce to this...well. I'll Pretend is another nod to Buck. And She'll Remember, yeah at first listen sounds a bit out of context with the heavy synth and toms, but really, its kinda cool that he felt comfortable tossing in some comedic acting chops, which is, if you think about it, pretty un-Dwight.
Since then, I haven't seen the guy smile and laugh as much as the last time I saw him hawking his own brand of breakfast patties at the local Meijer.

Photo of Dwight Yoakam and new gunslinger Keith Gattis on a Vox AC30 maybe?
Photo from voxamps.com