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After a 40 year hiatus Kinky Friedman proves with the release of his new album, his second in as many years, Resurrection, he’s back as good as he ever was. While last year’s release, Circus of Life, was a great reintroduction to Friedman, this album is even better.
Friedman’s fans are legion, and it turns out worldwide. When he was doing a book tour in South Africa in 1996 he met Tokyo Sexwhale who had been imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela. Sexwhale reported Mandela listened to Friedman’s song about the Holocaust, “Ride Em Jewboy”, for three years while in jail.
Which may go a long way to explaining why the opening track on the CD is about Nelson Mandela. Of course there was lots to admire about Mandela, but finding out he was listening to your music on Robben Island is bound to make an impression. That being said, the song, simply titled “Mandela”, is a wonderful homage to a great man and acknowledges the sacrifices he made in the fight for freedom.
Starting with that track the entirety of Resurrection shows Friedman in fine form as both a songwriter and a performer. His raw and occasionally raspy vocals are the perfect antidote to the gleam and polish of what the majority of country music had descended to. No over produced dreck from Friedman, just real songs about the life, regrets and hope.
Take the title track, “Resurrection”, where he ruminates on those who’ve fallen by the wayside, those who clawed back from addiction to die clean and free, and those, like him, who have been given second chances. There’s nothing maudlin or sentimental about this song. Life is what it is and Friedman loves all his broken and beautiful friends and appreciates the chances he’s been given.
One thing Friedman isn’t as sure of is the state of Nashville today. In “Me and Billy Swan” he laments how the places and folk which gave Music Row its character are now gone: “Now the cranes block out the sky/And Captain Midnight sighs/As a piece of Nashville dies/A piece of Nashville dies.”
Friedman doesn’t rage against the inevitable, or even wax nostalgic about how things used to be better when he was young. He’s simply telling us how it was, and sometimes progress that smooths out the rough edges isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Country music, like its cousins rock and roll and the blues, needs to be rough to be effective. On Resurrection, with the help of some friends including Willie Nelson singing backup on the title track, Kinky Friedman proves he not only understands that idea but can deliver on it.
This is a great album of music from one of the great survivors of the 1970s Outlaw Country music scene. Heartfelt and thoughtful, Resurrection from Kinky Friedman will warm the hearts of anyone who loves the strength and beauty of a good song.
