Paul Burch
Fool for Love
Bloodshot Records
By Danté Dominick
 Fool
for Love is being marketed as country but no matter what
your individual preconceptions of a country record are they will
not be met. Where then should we place Burch's latest in the
record stores? No clue, amigo. Is there a section labeled "Exceptional
Releases" ? How about "Resplendent Records" ?
This is Burch's fifth album and his first for the maverick
Bloodshot label. He's been more country before and he'll be
more country again. Maybe it is country, though. Alternating
bass permeates the record and certain cuts are certifiable honky-tonk.
It was recorded in Nashville (but don't hold that against the
record) and the first track is entitled "Lovesick Blues
Boy" -- a nod to the Opry's glory days with Red Foley calling
to stage "that Lovesick Blues Boy -- Hank Williams."
But no one at the Opry done it like this. The tune is driven
by rhythmic "tic tac" guitar that is acting like a
creepy metronome. Very subtle tremolo guitars and pedal steel
texture the background safely conjuring up the desolate feel
of Wyoming come round up time. "Brought up to be let down,"
the singer transforms from the lovesick blues boy to the boy
who causes the lovesick blues.
Pull my bell, announce your stop
I'm the kind you're momma warned you about
Pledge my love to you
Then leave you long gone, lovesick and blue
While "Lovesick Blues Boy" won't have anyone rushing
out to a jeweler anytime soon, the mood changes quickly with
the next tune. If "Bad Girl She Used To Be" doesn't
make you want to be in love there's a pretty scary chance you
may stand trial for homicide sometime in your future. The music
seeps into your brain and thankfully numbs that part that does
all the thinking to leave you in a euphoric state. It's a warm
feeling that rushes over with tremendous force like you've spent
the whole day trying to reach your baby but your tire's flat,
it's raining and cold, passing cars splash puddles on your new
coat, the newspaper you're using for an umbrella drips ink alongside
your tears as you cry like a child you want to be home so bad.
Alas, you make it. Comfort has never felt so comfortable; your
house most assuredly is a home and home is certainly where the
heart is. There's a warm fire, you're favorite sweater and slippers
are laid out, your sweetheart's hug could warm the South Pole
and who cares if this causes the arctic ice to melt causing the
world's oceans to rise a few feet creating environmental catastrophe
on the scale we've never seen before because you made it just
in time for dinner to come out of the oven and it's one doozy
of a roast complete with all the fixins and hot damn if love
ain't perfect tonight.
A few cuts satisfy the two-step urge, such as "Life of
a Fool" which is certainly at home in a Texas roadhouse
complete with sawdust and pickled eggs.
I had a feeling it was my day for one of those nights
When you lose your cool and your feeling sorry
At the bottom of the bottle at the end of the party
It's another great night in the life of a fool
"C'est le Moment" is a bona fide masterpiece. A
perfect number if you're a dancer or not -- though dancing will
surely increase your chances of tapping the ebullient passion
the song provokes. Along with the French title (which in itself
makes it impossible to file this record under country according
to certain by-laws) is a bouncing accordion and fiddle that adds
to the Parisian notion of love in the air, a discreet rendezvous
more romantic than Erica Jong may like but one hundred percent
exquisite and gratifying nonetheless.
If your gonna love me now's the time
Don't' you be waiting like a bird on the line
For a wind that's fast enough
For a breeze that's cool enough
A wonderful example of Burch's stature as one of the craftiest
songwriters around is "Moments of Weakness." A tale
of conflicting emotions unfolds as he wrestles with his feelings
for a former lover. They've hurt each other tremendously yet
a fire still burns.
It will pass in time
But for now I'm prime
To forget you forever or love you one more time
It's only moments of weakness
This living in between
The lines that I can walk
And the walls that I can climb
Post-modern inter-textualization out the whazoo! Burch relates
the terrible mess between two poles of love: his desire and ability
to walk Johnny Cash's line for his woman -- in perfect bliss
to remain faithful and devoted -- and his torturous nights talking
to Willie Nelson's walls because she is no longer around. Adding
to the fray is the realization that she has similar moments when
her guard is down, making it nearly impossible to ignore the
"echoes of love [that] linger on."
So now that I know
You have moments of weakness
With every crack and quake
I hope for my lucky break
Anguished lovers "walk the line" today only to say
"hello walls" tomorrow.
Well here we are again, this is a country record after all,
complete with inferred references to former Nashville songwriters.
Then again, Burch breaks yet another law emphasized in the Country
Music Penal Code when he "hidesbehind a Belgian Chimay."
Country singers are found behind bottled beer, yes, but twist-tops,
not $12 imported bottles brewed by monks in a Belgian monastery.
If a country singer is found behind a $12 drink it will be two
double-shots of whiskey, not a beer that has a cork in it.
The country/non-country thing really is a moot point of course.
Who gives a damn what you call it, just be sure you get it.
Just when "Time to Cry" hypnotizes with dreamy organ
and cello "Sparks Fly Out" pops you on your feet to
rock a little. The soundtrack weaves expertly through the musical
spectrum as the song's subject matter similarly meanders around
the many aspects of love -- exploring nearly every facet imaginable
in our modern world. Ernest Tubb posed the dilemma in 1941,
"there's two things in this world that I don't understand.
One of them's a woman, the other one's a man."
Fool for Love is a reminder that we are not simple
people. As contradictory as the emotion's displayed throughout
are, I'm willing to bet my entire CD collection that I am far
from being alone in my ability to identify with every one.
www.paulburch.com
dominick-at-rockzilla.net
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