The Gourds
Blood of the Ram
The Gourd’s “Blood
Of The Ram” (Eleven
Thirty Records) is another hook-filled, genre mixing
full-length album of highly listenable, if abstract
nods to country, Cajun, folk, R & B and plain old rock
and roll.
And, of course,
they employ every instrument in their repertoire.
A truly great
surreal American band, the Gourds' disparate parts make
a pretty impressive whole. Kevin Russell has the
most authentic Texas twang and a slightly bent approach
to songwriting which contrasts very nicely with Max
Johnson’s Appalachian yodel, and then there’s Jimmy
Smith’s . . . well, whatever you want to call it.
This one kicks off
with “Lower 48”: an accordion and fiddle-driven homage
to the country at large with wickedly clever couplets
and ends with a roll-call of the States.
Russell sounds
particularly strong on this record, but Smith scores a
few as well.
Even the two songs
that sound like he tossed them off pretty quickly,
“Wired Old Gal” and “Let Him In” have a tendency to
grow on you.
"Escalade" is a
Memphis soul-drenched number that has Russell
channeling Al Green and delivering a sarcastic look at
the futility of even trying to be concerned with global
warming.
"Illegal Oyster" is
a Jimmy Smith effort with a slow plucking banjo and
theramin sounding saw.
"Arapaho" has
Russell mixing up some very strange religious imagery
with some terrific lines like:
“When in analog
Rome, do as the analog Romans do.”
But the album
really gets rolling after Max Johnson’s single effort
“On Time”
“Do For You” is
another stomping Kevin Russell accordion throw-down and
“Cracklins" is a hooky little story about a very
unlikely bank robbery and the perpetrator’s even more
unlikely escape.
But the real
highlight is the
title cut, which tells another tall
tale in a decidedly Waylon Jennings style with heavy
bass-lines and steel guitar, this time about a randy
sheep who’s blood washes away the whole town when it’s
slaughtered.
The album ends with
one of Smith’s more annoying songs in concert, but the
studio version redeems itself with a particularly funny
sample inserted near the end.
Typically crazy
stuff from these white motherfuckers, but it seems to
get better with each subsequent listen.
-jitter
