Bob Frank and John Murry released World Without End in the States late in 2006, picking up friends new and old, and glowing reviews as its sand blasted country rasp exposes the rotting, black underbelly of the human psyche; Murder and Death.
Many would recoil from such a topic to hang your songwriting hat on for one tune, let alone make it the barbarous backbone of a score of tales on their album World Without End. Bob and John have stepped up to the dock and sworn themselves in as storytellers of the most compelling order.
The gruesome twosome connected through mutual friend and Memphisonian Don McGregor, who taught John his best licks, often unbeknown to John, playing songs written by Bob from his 1972 album on Vanguard. When they first met up, John and Bob found themselves playing the same tunes together; Bob having written them, John having learnt the guitar on them.
They decided they would record an albums worth of old murder ballads together, but found something was restricting the feel and the flow, so they did their research and wrote World Without End. All with the same black backbone. Beautifully produced by Tim Mooney, the music matches the subject matter, dark and mournful, yet also takes on a mysticism all of its own, with some seriously heart felt playing and immortal arrangements.
John and Bob have caught the ears of Rolling Stone`s David Fricke, who draws comparisons with such luminaries as Leonard Cohen and Warren Zevon in calling their album being "all bullets, blades and guilt without end".
UNCUT Magazine hears a "dazzling collection of blasted country folk and grimly haunting murder ballads, shot through with harrowing images of death, damnation and eternal suffering".
Memphis Guru Jim Dickinson pulls the best accolade out of the hat, declaring World Without End is "as timeless as death". You can`t get more paradoxically real than that.
I had the real pleasure of catching up with Bob and John as they prepare to take their songs out on a European Tour. It was refreshing to hear their thoughts on all manner of things going on in the world, as well as their music.
How`s life treating you currently?
John: Not well, Paul. I mean, we do have this album coming out on May 7 in Europe, the tour lined up, etc. Some things are going good. Fuck it: not well. My wife and I are separated. Not well. On the other hand, not well.
Article comments