Trax
By Bliss 06/17/2010
PAUL THORN, Pimps & Preachers (Perpetual Obscurity/Thirty Tigers): (4 stars 5)
Boxer, skydiver and furniture factory worker turned roots-rock Renaissance man Thorn mines his colorful history throughout his ninth album, most memorably on the title track, which spells out lessons gleaned from his preacher father and pimp uncle over slinky bass, bluesy guitar, organ and an insatiable groove: “The school of life was open each day I went to class/When I didn’t pay attention they kicked me in the ass.” Thorn’s humor and eye for revealing detail likewise illuminate “Weeds in the Roses,” poignant “Love Scar” and “I Don’t Like Half the Folks I Love.” A statement-making keeper. paulthorn.com.
KEVIN WELCH, A Patch of Blue Sky (Music Road): (3 stars 5)
Now based in central Texas after two decades in Nashville, the singer-songwriter offers an earthy, reflective assessment of his world. New players, including son Dustin Welch (who co-wrote “New Widow’s Dream”) and daughter Savannah and her band the Trishas, bring new attitude and texture Welch’s folk-country tunes with organ, cello and a dusty R&B feel. Highlights include “Midnight and Noon” and the uplifting title track, co-written with Claudia Scott, which gets a gospel twist courtesy of the Trishas’ rousing call-and-response embellishments. kevinwelch.com.
VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ, Live (Six Degrees): (4 stars 5)
The time-worn phrase “lightning in a bottle” springs to mind listening to this crisply recorded nine-track set that captures the intricate fretwork and excitement of the Malian guitarist’s celebrated concerts. Farka Touré’s fluid, Hendrix-like runs alternately electrify (notably with “Diaraby Magni” and the traditional tune “Maïga”) and soothe, cleanly melding Western rock influences with desert trance-blues grooves into his own identifiable sound. If you haven’t heard Farka Touré’s “Fondo” (one of this column’s picks for 2009’s best music) or self-titled 2007 debut, start here. vieuxfarkatoure.com.
GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals (Hollywood): (3.5 stars 5)
The hard-touring jam-band circuit faves look to break through to mainstream audiences with this slickly polished homage to classic rock influences. Whether tribute’s intentional is debatable, but comparisons to Heart, Fleetwood Mac, Melissa Etheridge and Tina Turner are inescapable with lead-off scorcher “Paris,” bittersweet “Colors,” “Only Love” and jamming “Hot Summer Night,” with Potter’s grit and dynamic vocal control met and matched by Scott Tournet’s cutting guitar leads. Also noteworthy: “Low Road,” a Hammond organ-fueled seduction co-written with producer Mark Batson. gracepotter.com.
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