The above was on the floor by the door when I got home. Along with this:
I’ve not had a chance to glisten to this last instalment of UWB goodness as yet. And I have other rather pressing things looming at present.
But as soon as time allows, I’ll be sure to let those good ol’ South’n Ca’lina boys medicine me with their musical magic.
The Last Willie n’ Testicles I’ll attend to in dew coarse… i.e. later.
SEVERAL DAYS LATER…
Ok, so ‘other things’ have blown over now. ‘So Long, Baby’ sing Uncle Walt’s Band. And that’s one of the several tracks on this compilation that aren’t on their other discs (even the expanded ones).
My God, these guys are great!!!
David Ball has several tracks on here that are the scaling the heights to become personal favourites, such as ‘Stay With The One’ and ‘Holding On’. Beautiful chordally and rhythmically and harmonically, with as much Jazz and Folk in them as Country. And gorgeous arrangements. Simple but effective.
One of their local contemporaries – I forget who now – said something along the lines of, ‘There are three great singers in Austin, and they’re all in the same band.’ Listening to this wonderful music it’s easy to think he wasn’t wrong.
I need to check with Omnivore, and co, but it seems there are drums on some tracks* (poss Walt’s sister?), and even the tracks that are duplicated between releases might be different versions… need to check if that’s the case, or not?
In the car I’m groovin’ with these hep cats, as they play ‘Gimme Some Skin’, whilst outside a cold but sunny day has turned to skate grey skies and heavy rain. And now I’m treated to another Anthology exclusive, ‘Whatever Reason’.
I think I like their rendition of One Meatball better than Ry Cooder’s. Ryland’s is ace, of course. But the vocals on the UWB version? Fabulous!
Then we return to the solid and familiar Walt gem ‘Shine On’, a great ode to keepin’ on keepin’ on, before hitting their latter day hit, ‘Getaway’. I think some director of a film or TV show used this number. And what a corker. The chorus is almost a calypso. It’s utterly lovely. It’s also a live performance, as well! Wonder if there’s a studio version?
This disc would be worth the asking price for this gem alone. But of course you get so much more. It’s a veritable treasure chest of rootsy booty.
Can’t recommend these guys highly enough. And the fact Lyle Lovett loves them so much makes me want to check him out more.
* There’s definitely a snare played with brushes on ‘Sitting On Top Of The World’.