TERRELL'S TUNEUP: NIMBLE AS GIMBLE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
March 19, 2010

He fiddled with Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. He fiddled with Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, Dolly Parton, and Merle Haggard — and also on TV with Hee Haw’s Million Dollar Band. His fiddling won him a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 1994, presented to him by then first lady Hillary Clinton. And he fiddled on the campaign trail for Louisiana Gov. Jimmie Davis. (Oops! He actually played banjo for the singing governor.)

Johnny Gimble turns 84 in a couple of months, and he’s still fiddling. He has a new album out, Celebrating With Friends, on which he’s joined by friends like Nelson, Haggard, Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel, Vince Gill, Jesse Dayton, and Prairie Home Companion’s Garrison Keillor. And the album’s cover art is by Mekon/Waco Brother/western-swing lover Jon Langford.

Personal digression: Despite his lengthy western-swing/country music résumé, I didn’t become aware of Johnny Gimble until the late 1960s. It was on a record called Make a Joyful Noise by a wild tribe of hippies called Mother Earth, led by a rich-throated blues belter named Tracy Nelson and a warbling poet named R.P. St. John.

Gimble was one of several country-music veterans to appear on this record. There was also another veteran fiddler — Grover C. “Shorty” Lavender — as well as steel-guitar master Pete Drake. One of the best moments on Joyful Noise was Gimble’s jaw-dropping solo on Hank Williams’ “You Win Again.” Shamefully, this album was out of print for decades until it was reissued on the Wounded Bird label about six years ago.

Back to the present: Celebrating With Friends almost seems like a tribute album. Indeed, on a couple of tunes Gimble doesn’t actually play. A younger fiddler, Jason Roberts, an impressive musician who is part of the house band that forms the backbone of the record, fills in for the master on the Gimble-penned instrumental “Gardenia Waltz.” He also plays and recites the lyrics of Gimble’s “Fiddlin’ Around.”

And then there’s the final track, “Owed to Johnny Gimble,” which is from a 1994 Prairie Home Companion show recorded shortly after Gimble won the NEA award. This is an actual tribute song by Keillor, who sings, “There was a fiddler named Gimble/Whose fingers were nimble.” (Keillor also rhymes “Darling Nelly” with Stephane Grapelli, but at least he doesn’t end any line with “Nantucket.”)

But the best tributes here are the classy jams featuring Gimble, who plays electric mandolin on some tracks and even sings a few songs. He swaps verses with Gill on “Somewhere South of San Antone,” showing that time has been kind to his vocal chords. Gimble’s granddaughter Emily Gimble sings “If I Had You” while grandpa proudly plays in the background.

Jesse Dayton takes time off his duties as Rob Zombie’s resident country singer to do a fun little number called “Hey Mr. Cowboy.” It’s nice to hear Dayton, whose last album was the Zombie-produced Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures, sing a song that has nothing to do with flesh-eating ghouls or demonic forces.

Of course, I’m partial to Willie and Merle. Nelson’s “Lady Be Good” is a snazzy, jazzy take on this Gershwin number, with a standout piano solo by Danny Levin. But I think my favorite tune on this album is Haggard’s spot, a hot version of “Sweet Georgia Brown.” It’s so good I can make it almost all the way through without thinking of the Harlem Globetrotters.

If you’re a fan at all of western swing, there’s no way Celebrating With Friends isn’t going to make you smile.

Also recommended:

* Somewhere in Time by Reckless Kelly. This is an album that Reckless Kelly has been threatening to make for years.

It’s a collection of songs written by the band’s country-music mentor, one Pinto Bennett. Never heard of Pinto Bennett? Neither had I before this album. Apparently he’s a honky-tonk hero up in Idaho, where he led a band called the Famous Motel Cowboys during the Outlaw Era of the ’70s.

Bennett was friends with the father of Cody and Willie Braun, the brothers at the core of Reckless Kelly, who grew up in Idaho before moving to Austin, Texas. Pinto, a burly bearded guy who looks like a healthier version of Blaze Foley, is not well-known outside of the potato capital, but judging from this album, he’s a heck of a songwriter.

And this sounds as if it were a fun album to make. Texas luminaries like Joe Ely, Lloyd Maines, Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson’s harp man), and Bukka Allen (Terry and Jo Harvey’s boy) show up. And so does Pinto Bennett. The old Idaho Cowboy himself is here to sing lead on “Thelma,” a sad waltz about a doomed love.

While RK is known for its powerful roots-rock — and there’s plenty of that here, such as in the opening track, “Little Blossom” — my favorite songs are the more traditional honky-tonkers like “I’ve Done Everything I Could Do Wrong,” “You Cared Enough to Lie,” and “I’ll Hold the Bottle, You Hold the Wheel.” I can imagine Ray Price singing that one.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, March 14, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Just Like Me by Paul Revere & The Raiders
Maid of Sugar Made of Spice by Mouse & The Traps
The Snake by Johnny Rivers
Valley of Neptune by Jimi Hendrix
Stain by The Laundronauts
Sick by The Ultimatemost High
Wig Wag by Manby's Head
Cysco Sanchez Has a Drink by Cysco Sanchez Supergroup
Super Hero by Electricoolade

My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama by Frank Zappa
Don't Bogue My High by The Dirtbombs
Come Down With Me by The Organs
Stolen Love by Thee Headcoatees
Get Ready, I'm Gonna Move in the Room Upstairs by The Rev. Louis Overstreet
Shortnin' Bread by Neal Pattman
Goin' Manic by The Rev. Horton Heat
Fissure of Rolando by The Cramps

PRE-ST. PATRICK'S DAY CELEBRATION

March to Battle by The Chieftains with Liam Neeson
The Fairy Hills by The Wolfe Tones
The Likes of You Again by Flogging Molly
The Rocky Road to Dublin by The Young Dubliners
Donnegal Express by Shane MacGowan & The Popes
Captain Kelly's Kitchen by The Dropkick Murpheys
Whiskey in a Jar by The Dubliners
Wild Rover by The Dropkick Murpheys with Shane MacGowan
Irish Rover by The Dubliners with The Pogues

Long Lost Tapes of Hendrix by Black 47
A Bang on the Ear by The Waterboys
Yer Drunk Again/Polka del Diablo by The Mollys
Carrickfergus by Van Morrison The Chieftains

NO SF OPRY TONIGHT

Because of transmitter problems at KSFR, there will be no Santa Fe Opry tonight.

Hopefully the station will be back up by Sunday. I'm planning an hour or so of Irish music -- Celt Rock, traditional and everything between -- on Terrell's Sound World. Show starts at 10 p.m. Mountain Time on 101.1 FM in Northern New Mexico and streaming at http://www.ksfr.org

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: SAN PATRICIOS GO BRAUGH

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
March 12, 2010

If you get an emotional surge of patriotism in your soul when you hear the phrase “Remember the Alamo,” chances are you might not care for the new album by The Chieftains and Ry Cooder.

Or at least the subject matter. While some might not like the idea of celebrating those who fought hard against this country, it’s difficult to imagine that anyone could be unmoved by at least some of the wondrous collaboration that is San Patricio. Once you get swept into chief Chieftain Paddy Moloney’s magic, you might come dangerously close to forgetting the Alamo.

The inspiration behind this album is the story of the San Patricio Brigade, a band of predominantly Irish (although there also were a good number of German) immigrants, many of whom deserted the U.S. Army and joined the Mexican army to fight during the Mexican-American War.

Moloney and Cooder recruited their own brigade of musicians including Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte and Mexican American songbirds Lila Downs and Linda Ronstadt, as well as Irish actor Liam Neeson to record this tale. And there are lesser-known groups including Los Folkloristas and Los Cenzontles.

“If the Mexicans were there, there must have been music. I know for myself, if the Irish were there, there most certainly would have been music.” That’s what Moloney writes in the liner note of San Patricio. And he and his collaborators show what a sweet mix traditional Irish and Mexican music can be. Uilleann pipes and tin whistles play Mexican melodies. Mariachi mixes with Celtic themes. At one point, the "Mexican Hat Dance " becomes a jig.

Not all of the tunes deal directly with the San Patricios. In fact, “Persecución de Villa,” in which The Chieftains are joined by Mariachi Santa Fe de Jesus (Chuy) Guzman, is about Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution, which occurred more than 60 years after the Mexican-American War.

History lesson: In this country, the San Patricios were known as traitors. In Mexico, they are considered heroes who fought an invading Army. The war, derisively called “Mr. Polk’s War” (after President James K.), was controversial. Even Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who served as an Army lieutenant during the conflict, sounded almost like Dennis Kucinich when he wrote in his memoirs, “To this day [I] regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.” The American Army suffered a desertion rate of more than 8 percent — more than for any other American war.

According to historian Martin Paredes, “Although the American Army was composed of recent immigrants, discrimination permeated through the ranks. Catholic prejudice and harsh treatment by Anglo-American superiors and the use of extreme disciplinary measures such as flogging added to the reasons for the desertions from Taylor’s ranks. ‘Potato heads,’ as the Irish were commonly called, were particularly singled out for harsh treatment.”

In a song called “Sands of Mexico,” Cooder sings, “ Now the Army used us harshly, we were but trash to them/Conscripted Irish farmers/Not first class soldier men/They beat us and they banged us/Mistreated us, you know.”

No, this was no picnic time for potato heads.

According to an article presented online by the Texas State Historical Association, “The Mexican government, aware of prejudice against immigrants to the United States, started a campaign after the Mexican War broke out to win the foreigners and Catholics to its cause. ... Mexican propaganda insinuated that the United States intended to destroy Catholicism in Mexico, and if Catholic soldiers fought on the side of the Americans, they would be warring against their own religion.”

Narrating “March to Battle (Across the Río Grande)” on San Patricio, Neeson recites, “We are the San Patricios, a brave and gallant band/There’ll be no white flag flying within this green command/We are the San Patricios, we have but one demand/To see the Yankees safely home across the Río Grande.”

The San Patricios were led by Sgt. John Riley, an Irish immigrant who had deserted the U.S. Army and fought hard for Mexico. But they made their last stand at the Battle of Churubusco (a name that came from the Aztec word meaning “Place of the War God”) in August 1847. Out of 260, only 75 survived. They killed at least 137 American soldiers and wounded nearly 900.

“We went down to Churubusco, but the devil got there first,” Cooder sings in “Sands of Mexico.” Many of the deserters were hung. “As I stand upon the gallows, it cheers the soul to know/History will absolve us on the sands of Mexico,” Cooder sings.

But Riley was in for a fate some might think worse than death. He was forced to dig the graves of some of his compatriots. He also received 50 lashes and was branded with the letter "D" (for "deserter") on his face — twice, actually. According to www.AmericanHeritage.com, “Since the letter was seared on upside down the first time, it was righted in a second branding.” Two years later, Riley would sue over this punishment, but a jury in Cincinnati ruled in favor of the government.

Again from Neeson in “March to Battle”: “We’ve disappeared from history like footprints in the sand/But our song is in the tumbleweeds and our love is in this land/But if in the desert moonlight you see a ghostly band/We are the men who died for freedom across the Río Grande.”

On a lighter note: My favorite Irish tune in recent weeks can be found on Black 47’s new album Bankers & Gangsters.

It’s a funny, upbeat song called “The Long Lost Tapes of Hendrix.” And yes, it’s about Jimi.

Leader Larry Kirwin sings, “One evening while out strollin’ a friend I chanced to see/He was begging behind a bottle on Spring and Bowery/He said ‘I got some news for you, only cost a couple of bob/About a buried treasure back home in Ballydehob.’ ”

But the treasure is as elusive as the wee folks’ pot of gold. To find the tapes, Kirwin has to confront a BBW bank teller — “200 pounds of sweet Maggie McGuire” — as well as an ominous “apparition in tie-dye.”

I’ll say no more, except “Purple Haze” never sounded so good on uilleann pipes.

eMusic March

* Animal God Of The Streets by Kim Fowley. I met Kim Fowley -- producer, songwriter, Rock 'n' Roll Svengali, Sultan of Sunset Strip -- at one of the first South by Southwest festivals I attended back in the mid 90s. He was in the Austin Convention Center wearing a fairly psychedelic coat of many colors and was in the company of a sexy young singer he claimed to be "The Next Janis Joplin." (I listened to her cassette tape when I got back home. She was not the next Janis Joplin.) I don't even remember how our conversation started, but he was pitching this singer to me so intently you'd have thought I was some major producer. A film crew approached us and Fowley focused his pitch on the camera. Fowley ranted, the Next Janis Joplin slinked around looking sexy. I decided, what the hell, I held up the tape with a stern expression, nodding my head, as if I were the muscle in the entourage. I don't know where that camera crew was from, but what I'd give to have that footage!

So that's my Kim Fowley story. It has nothing to do with this album. Or maybe it has everything to do with it. His inspired quasi-political babblings of "Is America Dead?" definitely is the same voice I remember ranting about that singer at the convention hall.

Animal God was released in 1975, shortly before he was recruiting The Runaways. But it was recorded a few years before. (In "Is America Dead?" he mentions the fact that Woodstock was the year before., and he's not afraid to use the word "groovy.") The music is good stripped-down blues rock informed by psychedelia.

The first track "Night of the Hunter" sounds almost like Steppenwolf. And "Swamp Dance" is sweet and swampy. I'm not sure why Fowley attempted a cover of Link Wray's "Rumble." But "Hobo Wine" -- a pretty close relative of " Drinkin' Wine-Spo-Dee-Oo-Dee" sounds like something from a jukebox on skid row. I mean that in a good way, of course.

* 1950s Gospel Classics by Various Artists. Here's another happy find. This 25-song collection is a treasure chest of some great, if very obscure, gospel belters and guitar pickers.

There's Professor Johnson, who's got a Henry Green, Rev, Robert Ballinger, Deacon Leroy Shinault and the Rev. Anderson Johnson, who does a tune called "Death in the Morning," which either is a precursor to or a crazy bastard son of "O Death."

Sister Rosetta Tharpe's fans will immediately recognize a couple of her tunes here. Green does a version of "Strange Things" (though he does it as a dirge, not upbeat like Tharpe) and "God Don't Like It," which is done twice here by Anderson Johnson. If anything, his version, featuring his slide guitar, is even more jaunty than Sister Rosetta's. On one take, Johnson ends it with a disclaimer: "Now I wasn't talking about anyone, I was just singing my song." So despite the hell-fire lyrics, he's letting us know he's not really judging anyone. He sings it with a smile on his face and love in his heart.

* Bankers and Gangsters by Black 47. Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, a new Black 47 album. Sometimes Larry Kirwin gets a little heavy-handed when he gets going on the politics. The title track here for instance isn't all that inspired. And nothing here matches my favorite 47 song, "Forty Deuce" -- the story of real gangsters.

But there are a few standouts here. "Izzy's Irish Rose" is a fun look at a Hebrew/Celtic romance (and has a tasty little Irishfied blast of "Hava Nagila.") "Celtic Rocker" is a light-hearted look at the subculture that has grown around bands like The Dropkick Murphys, Flogging , The Young Dubliners, and, yes, Black 47.

And then there's "Long Lost Tapes of Hendrix." Check my Terrell's Tune-up column this Friday for more on that.

* Descending Shadows by Pierced Arrows Even though Dead Moon is gone, two-thirds of the band — Fred Cole and his bass player and wife of 40-plus years, Toody Cole — are back with another fine group, Pierced Arrows. The Arrows released an album called Straight to the Heart a couple of years ago on Tombstone.

And now comes their sophomore effort — and it's no slump,

The good news for Dead Moon fans is that the new trio sounds like a continuation of Moon's basic guitar/bass/drums sound. I suppose hard-core followers could argue over which drummer is better, Loomis or new guy Kelly Halliburton (no relation to Dick Cheney), but I don't see a major difference. The important thing is there was no cheesy attempt to update or "modernize" the sound. And Fred is still writing some memorable songs.

See my full review in Terrell's Tune-up a couple of weeks ago.


* The Second Stop Is Jupiter by Sun Ra. Herman Poole "Sonny" Blount, better known in this solar system as Sun Ra (1914-1993), not only played cosmic jazz but also dabbled in doo-wop and R & B in the 1950s and a little funky soul in the '60s and '70s. And danged if Ra didn't make that sound cosmic too!

Norton Records recently released three CDs of his material. Interplanetary Melodies and The Second Stop Is Jupiter feature recordings from the mid-1950s, while Rocket Ship Rock spans the late '50s through early '70s. I picked up the two of the three a couple of months ago, but just got my hands on Jupiter lately. I reviewed the whole shebang a few weeks ago in my Tuneup column. Read it HERE.

Plus

* "New Mexico" by Johnny Cash. A few weeks back Leslie Lithicum of The Albuquerque Journal had a fun column about songs about New Mexico. I was ashamed to realized that I had never heard this one. Luckily, eMusic had it on a Sun Records collection. It's a classic chunka chunka Cash tune about a young cowboy who is recruited for a job here, has a miserable time and gets ripped off.

No, this is one the Tourism Department never will use in ads: "Go back to your friends and loved ones, tell others not to go/To the God-forsaken country they call New Mexico."

* The tracks from The Sheik Said Shake by Hipbone Slim & The Knee-Tremblers that I didn't get last month. It's just good British psychobilly blues from the Dark Dimension.

My favorite in this batch is "Buried Next to You," a slow-grooving meditation on eternal love. I don't know whether this is an original or otherwise, but I can easily imagine Charlie Feathers singing this one. And there's "One-Legged Rock," which takes up where Terry Allen's "Peggy Leg" left off.

Now I've got to get my hands on the new one by Hipbone -- The Kneeanderthal Sound of…