Houston Marchman
Desperate Man
By Jonni Jewell
 I
admit I am a fan of Houston Marchman and his music. I first saw
him in 2001 and was taken in not only by his song writing, but
his voice and the way he delivers his music. We have all his
previous CDs, and have been anxious for the release of Desperate
Man. It has been 2 years since the release of Houston's last
CD, a live production. We had been hearing new songs at the shows
and could see some of them developing as he changed verses here
and there. Marchman has also been previewing some of the new
songs on his website over the past year, posting just enough
of the song to leave you wanting to hear more.
As I get familiar with the musicians involved in the Texas
country scene, I find myself much more interested in who plays
on the CD with the artist than I had been in the past. Many artists
use studio musicians, but Marchman did not take that route. The
players are musicians we know, musicians we have seen, not just
a name on a CD jacket. Marchman has always had a tight band,
with Roger Rowe on drums and Jerry Abrams on bass.
I wanted to keep an open mind and try to hear Desperate
Man as someone who wasn't familiar with Marchman, but when
Jeff Plankenhorn's dobro resounded its first note and Marchman's
voice took up the song, I instantly knew the production of this
CD had been taken to a higher level. On previous releases, Marchman's
words often run together, making it difficult for a new listener
to understand the words and get the message. Houston lyrics go
far beyond the level of an "eighth grade level divorced
housewife" (to take words from his song "Vietnashville")
and so can occasionally be hard to take in fully. This Paul "Pappy"
Middleton production makes the voice clear and crisp, with an
excellent mix between the musicians and the vocals.
This collection of songs is mostly about relationships, but
often ones we cannot relate to personally. We are taken into
the life of another and given maybe a little understanding of
how people in different types of situations think. "$2 Pistol"
takes us to a man in prison hours before his execution for shooting
the woman he loved, and a man she was cheating with.
In the grey morning light of way north Dallas
With a single shot they departed that sweet town
Hell, I ain't that good an aim, so I don't have to explain
What they were doing when hard times took' em down
"Midnight" details the problem of finding love in
one-night stands.
If there's one thing this highway's taught me
It's only true love that turns a gypsy from the road
That line segues perfectly into "Suzanne." Rowe
plays the congas to a haunting beat as we are taken inside the
life of a musician to see the downside. While making music may
be heavenly, life on the road is hell on the heart until one
finds true love.
I don't want to be a gypsy
Guitar welded to my hand
I can't stand to feel the bitter wind
That cuts the midnight sand
All I want is there beside her
And it's here I'll take my stand
Wrapped in the arms of sweet Suzanne
The title cut has a man searching for a woman who loved his
father but left when he was young. In his own search for love,
he learns that finding love can be difficult when one is too
desperate to find it. The same lesson is at the center of "Broken
Glass." Heather Woodruff's fiddle and Plankenhorn's dobro
accent the sorrow we feel for a Catholic girl looking for something
missing in her life, but making wrong choices along the way
Till you slide on down in the backseat
And you're the brand new queen of the parking lot
Another Marlboro Light and one more round of Pearl
When you find it's a long way home
Carrying the guilt of a Catholic girl
Midnight fools the lonesome
Into pickin' up a diamond on the ground
Another light goes out in a motel south of town
Come morning, it's always broken glass that you found
"Cosmolene" a song about a girl by that name, is
a waterproof preservative grease that guns are packed in to keep
them from rusting. I have a feeling this quirky song is going
to be one of those that folks will be singing along to at shows.
For many, it won't make any sense, but they will love it anyway.
She's got catfish heads on a bois d'arc post
Testify to my lovesick ghost
She's gonna take more than I could give her
But her love's so sweet I felt obliged to tip her
My husband's favorite line of the song is "Cosmolene,
she sure can keep clean a pistol" (to which I say, "I
bet she can.")
"Sweet Love" and "Hey Senorita" are wonderfully
written and performed love songs, with Woody Woodruff's Spanish
acoustic guitar coloring "Hey Senorita." But the love
song that really stands out is "San Miguel," released
in 1998 on the now out of print Vietnashville. The words
combine with the music to bring out the feeling the songwriter
was trying to share, making this a job well done. Woodruff again
plays the Spanish guitar with Elanor Whitmore accompanying on
violin. Lynn Adler sings in Spanish on this with a voice that
has the passion of one who is missing her love. Every time I
hear this cut, I picture a beautiful Spanish lady standing on
a balcony, sadly gazing across the land, waiting for her love
to come home. As if the story itself is not sad enough, the man
must continually leave his love and cross out of Mexico to find
work, so he can send money home to his family.
One year since he left her, the border stole him away
She still sings for his heart, but she already knows
The price of the money, he paid with his soul
The other previously released song "Come On Baby,"
is presented slower and gentler here than on the Leaving Dallas
album. A man finds his woman has been cheating and questions
the relationship. The original version was angry where the new
version has a sorrowful tone.
Hey come on baby, darlin tell me the truth
How long's that man been lying with you
Tell me baby, are you in love
Or are you just coming up short on us?
This album shows us the next level of Marchman's talent as
both a songwriter and singer. There is growing depth to his song
writing, and his vocal ability continues to emerge, with a cleaner
sound than previous recordings but without losing that slightly
husky style that made me buy the first CD some years ago. With
Desperate Man, he has created his best album to date.
I expect many who listen to this album will have it as one of
their favorites of 2003 come the end of the year.
*www.houstonmarchman.com
|
