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- Carolyn Wonderland
Bloodless Revolution
Independent
By Dante Dominick
 Carolyn
Wonderland's live shows are just outright phenomenal. Top notch,
five-stars, off the meter whatever the cliché, Carolyn
and her band meet it. Houston's loss was Austin's bounty when,
apparently tired of monopolizing Houston's "Best Of (insert
multiple music categories here)" year after year, she departed
the larger metropolis for little 'ol Austin in 1999. Nowadays
Carolyn demonstrates her vocal prowess and deft guitar playing
-- both infused with heavy doses of soul -- in clubs throughout
the capital city when not on the road touring.
I had reveled in the glory of Carolyn Wonderland's shows about
a dozen times before the independently released Bloodless
Revolution brought the packaged rendition to my ears. High
expectations abounded, to say the least. Still, some apprehension
was apparent as I slipped the disc into my stereo the first time.
Familiarity with consistently super live acts oftentimes leads
to a bit of a let down as studios routinely dilute the scorching
power of dominating performers. Upon first listen, this cloud
apparently drowning my senses, I initially felt lukewarm toward
Bloodless Revolution. By disc's end, however, throwing
aside all predispositions, I realized this was turning out to
be a darn good record. Once the ultimate test came around (a
solitary evening of whiskey-on-the-rocks and pushing my speakers'
threshold) all was crystal clear -- this album is great! A few
months later Bloodless Revolution remains in heavy rotation
on my stereo.
Sometimes heavy in lyrical content, Bloodless Revolution
still demonstrates Carolyn's sprite, playful blend of blues,
gospel, southern rock and country. "Smile" kicks off
the record with typical optimism and a hearty dose of the aforementioned
blender. Carolyn's clean, bluesy guitar is countered by Scott
Daniels' approach, which utilizes a bit more distortion in the
mold of hard rocking heroes in southern rock's lore; Cole El-Saleh's
lively ivories add the final touch. The musical mesh is pleasing
and can't help but instigate the facial expression that is the
song's namesake, and the following country/gospel duet, "This
Land," keeps that grin intact.
Around the half way point "Judgement Day Blues"
brings us to her set's more raucous side as Carolyn's fingers
re-incarnate the legendary Chicago bluesman, Hound Dog Taylor,
borrowing his monster "Let's Get Funky" riff from the
1976 live recording Beware of the Dog. Taylor's band
was appropriately dubbed the House Rockers, so Carolyn and the
boys have a precedent to live up to. Daniels, El-Saleh and Wonderland
take turns soloing and apparently no one was content to simply
rock the house, they must have been intent on bringing the whole
thing down. (Reports indicate no one was injured in the studio
during the recording.)
"Bloodless Revolution" really mixes things up with
its demented intro dissipating into a truly wicked riff. An
observation on the deplorable direction national and world leaders
seem to be taking us, the opening lines, "welcome to the
Empire / let's throw the herd an election," should give
you an idea where Ms. Wonderland is headed with this one. The
solo break is a masterpiece of performance and production, causing
listeners to recoil in trepidation. Shudders and goosebumps
surface with the realization: they're pissed.
"Heart" encapsulates Carolyn Wonderland's standing
among the most exciting singers anywhere. Her voice can be as
beautiful as an angel and as powerful as a Class 5 hurricane
all within the drop of a hat. "Homelessness in Austin"
takes the whole vocal prowess thing up a few notches. A cool,
jazzy strut and slick arrangement all around, Carolyn's bellowing
from somewhere miles south of the diaphragm has divas of past
smiling (and those of present blushing). This highly personal
composition recalls Carolyn's early days in Austin living out
of her van, penniless but scratching her way to the top in "the
live music capital of the world." And to the cream she
is indeed rising.
The final two tracks take us out on a hard rocking note, culminating
with "Driving Into the Sun," an ending that seems to
leave the message that this is a band to be reckoned with. Unwilling
to cater to record companies' limitations Carolyn Wonderland
continues to record independently, but some notable figures are
taking notice. Including one who is rather famous for shucking
expectations and blazing a trail of his own (his initials are
either R.Z. or B.D.) and don't be surprised when you find them
playing together.
One thing's for certain, some forces -- even those barely
five feet tall -- cannot be contained. It's safe to expect more
great records from Carolyn in the future.
Yeeehaaa!
www.carolynwonderland.com
dominick-at-rockzilla.net
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