Music Review: Indie Round-Up - Charlie Louvin, The Soul of John Black, Ted Russell Kamp - Page 3

The low-cut instrumental "Slipin' and Slidin'" (sic) smartly mixes acoustic guitar noodling, trance beats and feedback-y effects. "Swamp Thing" has elements of R&B and a suggestion of rap but sounds most of all like an acoustic interpretation of early ZZ Top. "Swamp thing, try to put your thing on me - Not this time."

The gentle, folksy drug-overdose tale "One Hit" echoes and updates Brewer & Shipley's classic "One Toke Over The Line" musically and thematically, while "Feelin's" dresses up Sly Stone funk in a coat of swampy soul, with irresistible results. Finally, "Deez Blues" gives the obligatory nod to Robert Johnson. "Oh Mr. Blues won't you leave me alone, oh get out of my home."

Don't take the assortment of historical references and comparisons above to mean that The Soul of John Black is just a pastiche of styles. Obvious influences and uneven songwriting don't take away from the force of originality that Bigham is massing here. It's blues for a new generation, crafted by a mature spirit who is adept at acoustic, electric, and slide guitars as well as soulful singing.

The CD puts Bigham and his crew at the forefront of a small but (one can hope) potent movement that's bringing blues up to date without sacrificing authenticity. To put it more positively, he's working towards a truly new sound, solidifying the fragile resonance between today's machine-tooled talent and the flesh-and-bones musical traditions of the past. Heady stuff, highly recommended.

Available with extended clips at CD Baby.

Ted Russell Kamp, Divisadero

All that time on the road with Shooter Jennings must have given multi-instrumentalist Ted Russell Kamp some mixed feelings about the life of a touring musician. His new CD contains a lot of lyrics about traveling, rootlessness, and the attendant sadness. But the standout track is the opener, a clever, perfectly catchy country-roots song about lost love called "Swinging Doors."

"The Last Time I Let You Down" is a fine country power ballad, the kind of song someone like Faith Hill might have a big hit with. "So tonight I'll be drivin'/'Cause I'm past the cryin'/It's the last time that I'll let you down." "Maria" is a pretty love song, while the waltz-ballads "Music Is My Mistress" and "Looking for Someone" draw on the heartache that made Hank Williams so powerful: "A life lived alone, it ain't no life at all/Like a broken-down van or an unfinished song."

Article Author: Jon Sobel

Jon Sobel is Co-Executive Editor of Blogcritics. As a writer he contributes most often to the Culture section, where he often reviews NYC theater; he also writes a semi-regular review round-up of independent music releases. …

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