The Town Crier
WildRoots
Take the riff from ZZ Top’s “La Grange,” add a solo vaguely reminiscent of Steve Howe’s from “All Good People” by Yes, and finish it off with an outro possibly inspired by Wings’ “Helen Wheels.” As incongruous as that might seem, it all works on the outrageous opening track from Florida swamp blues master Robert “Top” Thomas’ solo debut.
Thank goodness for small regional labels that release hard-to-find music such as this. Bassist, producer and songwriter Stephen Dees explains how he, his wife and an up-and-coming blues pianist founded WildRoots:
“Patti and I met Victor (Wainwright, WildRoots’ first artist) at a charity benefit performance that we were both playing at in Ormond Beach, Fla.,” Dees told Good New Music by e-mail. “We both dug each other’s music. Eventually Victor asked me if I would co-write with him and produce his album. … We all decided that the best way to put out quality records would be to have our own label.”
Dees’ credentials include playing bass for Hall and Oates in the ’70s; forming Novo Combo with Michael Shrieve (Santana, Journey) in the ’80s; touring with Foghat in the ’90s; and working with his wife as The Bandees in the 2000s.
But back to Thomas: “I’ve known Robert for a long while,” Dees told GNM. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with him many times. What we love the most about ‘Top’ is that he’s the real deal — a genuine bluesman. So when it came down to signing our first act other than Victor Wainwright and the WildRoots, it was an easy choice to go with ‘The Town Crier.’ ”
“Mississippi Quickie” and the title track are remakes of tunes recorded in the ’90s by Thomas’ old blues band SmokeHouse, but Dees confided to GNM that he played them with Thomas in other bands before Thomas recorded them with SmokeHouse.
“Blues Grass” homes in on the Delta side of Thomas’ sound, and features some of his tasty electric slide-guitar work. Written by Dees and Wainwright, it originally appeared on Wainwright’s 2009 album, “Beale Street to the Bayou.”
Thomas pays tribute to mentor Lazy Lester by covering the harmonica player’s 1963 Excello B-side, “The Same Thing Could Happen to You,” right down to the Louisiana drawl.
“King Snake Crawl,” a Thomas co-write with Dees, eulogizes Bob “The Midnight Creeper” Greenlee and other artists who recorded for King Snake Records — a Florida-based independent blues label started by Greenlee — whose roster included Rufus Thomas, Lucky Peterson, Kenny Neal, Noble “Thin Man” Watts, Root Boy Slim and SmokeHouse.
Other highlights include the raucous instrumental “YeeHaw Junction”; the acoustic “I’m a Freight Train,” featuring guitar wunderkind Damon Fowler on dobro; and “It Ain’t Easy,” with its gospel-tinged ending featuring the WildRoots Choir.
Tracks
1. Mississippi Quickie
2. Blues Grass
3. The Same Thing Could Happen to You
4. Lazy Little Daisy
5. King Snake Crawl
6. Bad Seed
7. What’s the Matter Ma
8. Sugar Shop
9. YeeHaw Junction
10. I’m a Freight Train
11. Daddy’s Gone
12. The Town Crier
13. It Aint Easy
Total time: 43:23
External links
artist’s website
amazon.com
iTunes Store
