FEATURED REVIEW...........................................................19 SEPT 2005
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Artist:
DELBERT McCLINTON |
Delbert McClinton has been kicking around the music business for nearly a half-century. The dude's got chops (but that was evident way back in 1963, when McClinton's harmonica carried "Hey, Baby" to the top of the charts). Unsurprisingly, there's a lot to like about McClinton's latest release, Cost of Living.
The disc opens with a couple of jukebox friendly tracks that find McClinton somewhere between Dr. John and John Fogerty. "One of the Fortunate Few" and "Right to Be Wrong" are rollicking, bayou-tinged numbers. The swamp vibe, however, soon disolves into a cheezy sludge.
The problems begin to surface on the album's fourth track (aptly entitled "I'll Change My Style"). The freewheeling honky-tonk piano of the earlier songs gives way to a stylized plod that might have been lifted from the Beatles' "Oh, Darling." The coup de grâce, however, is the inclusion of an unconscionable saxophone solo.
Unfortunately, the
cheezy saxophone hangs around for another couple of tracks, bleating its
way through "Hammerhead Stew" and "Your Memory, Me, and
the Blues." Lest we be accused of mere sax-ism, however, let us hasten
to add that "Hammerhead Stew" also features an overblown backing
chorus, and "Your Memory, Me, and the Blues" contains, well,
some less-than-inspired lyrics:
"A creature of habit,
In all that I do,
When I make coffee, I still make
Coffee for two,
But it should be for three,
Your memory, me, and the blues."
The second half of the album is a similar admixture of good drinkin' songs ("Dead Wrong", "I Had a Real Good Time," "Two Step Too") and cheezy missteps ("Kiss Her Once for Me," "Alright By Me").
The one track on the album that straddles the two categories is the atmospheric ballad "Down in Mexico." The production is a bit too clean and the "Spanish" guitar a bit too forward in the mix (reminiscent of those Esteban infomercials), but somehow the result is nonetheless compelling. (Or perhaps we're just suckers for music in a minor key.)
In summation: 7 rollicking bar tunes + 5 hunks-o'-cheeze + Esteban's next single = 3 cheezeballs.
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A NOTE ON THE RATING SYSTEM:
5 CHEEZEBALLS = UNLISTENABLE SCHLOCK
3 CHEEZEBALLS = A DIFFICULT SLOG
1 CHEEZEBALL = THE ODD FORGIVABLE MISSTEP
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