- The Posse
Justice is Coming
Pedernales Recordings
- By Al Kunz
 Retrieving Justice is Coming
after a couple spins followed by enough time on the "to
be reviewed" stack to turn to compost, my first thought
was "how did this slip past me." It appeared all ten
tracks were cover versions that seemed "just like the originals."
A little research to verify this, a quick, dismissive review,
and the disc could move to the "coaster" pile in no
time.
It may be listed as just "Bright Lights," but this
blues tune is obviously Jimmy Reed's "Bright Lights, Big
City." It'd be tough to standout with a song written and
originally recorded by an early, influential bluesman like Reed
which has already been covered by Hendrix, Neil Young, Charlie
Rich, and half the British Invasion, but they do okay. The track
listing shortened the title of the honky-tonkin' "Leave
My Mama Out of This," but the songwriter credit matches,
so this must be a cover of "new traditionalist" Royal
Wade Kimes song from 1996. "She's Too Hot" is "She's
Too Hot (To Be an Old Flame)" originally recorded by Copperhead.
And this is where my theory starts falling apart.
Available information about The Posse was slim. The disc
doesn't list a web site and the only contact information is the
phone number for their booking agent. If the normal over-the-top
press packet exists, it got misplaced before the disc landed
on my desk. In spite of this a lot can be surmised from the
credits and liner notes. The core of the band is the duo of
Brian Sacco, who plays acoustic guitar, and Britt Ennis on drums,
with vocal duties normally split between them. The overlap in
the remaining credits and the players in Copperhead was the first
clue that I was confused. I was sure "Ain't Gettin' Up"
was a cover of a Hank Jr. tune. Sure sounded like him. Even
thought I knew which disc it was on. Johnny Lee, who takes a
turn as guest vocalist on the tune, might say I was lookin' for
songs in all the wrong places. Could be the reason this sounds
like it oughta be a Hank Jr. song are the members of Hank's Bama
Band who played on that Copperhead record and joined Sacco and
Ennis in The Posse for Justice is Coming.
I'm pullin' up at the job and it's already half past eight
I got the boss man chewin' in my ear reminding me I'm late
And he's thinks I've got a problem about wakin' up alone
He'd hit the roof if he knew what was really going on
Well I ain't gettin' up, just gettin' in
From another all-nighter with all my friends
Had a good time 'til the very end
I ain't gettin' up, I'm just gettin' in
Along with Bama Band members Wayne Turner, Bill Marshall and
Billy Earheart (also of the Amazing Rhythm Aces), The Posse enlisted
Austin fiddler Erik Hokkanen, and a backup vocalist credited
as Temple Owen (which we can probably assume should be Owen Temple).
Additionally Doug Supernaw takes a turn as guest vocalist on
"Long Gone," a funky, country-blues.
She's playing both ends against the middle
Two hearts on the line, lyin' just a little
She doesn't know which way to turn
Either way somebody gets burned
'Cus I'm long gone
Finally reached the point of no return
Thus far my research had uncovered three songs that had been
recorded before, but, with the exception of "Bright Lights,"
I doubted I'd even heard the prior versions. Then the research
hit a dead end. Couldn't find evidence that the remaining songs
were ever recorded before The Posse gathered at Willie's old
studio along the Pedernales. If these weren't old songs that
sounded just like the original, the only conclusion left was
that they'd become ingrained in my subconscious so well in those
first few spins that they seemed like old favorites when the
disc finally rose to the top of the stack. That put Justice
is Coming in a completely different light.
Viewed in that light, with a few exceptions, this is a damn
fine collection. Two of the slower cuts ("I Get the Picture"
and "Should've Said You") are like the compromise ballads
that major labels push on traditional leaning performers as their
debut single (think Joe Nichols' "The Impossible" or
Blake Shelton's "Austin"). These are redeemed by "When
the Smoke Clears," another slow tempo number about a cowboy
who isn't in the bar to find a woman, but to forget one.
There's an Abilene cowgirl, she's looking my way
So I ask her to dance the first slow song they play
But what am I going to do if she asks me to take her home
'Cus me and this brokenheart, we always leave alone
When the smoke clears
"Off My Mind" is a different spin on the same theme.
The chorus seems the Texas Music equivalent of Steve Goodman's
"You Never Even Called Me by My Name," pushing all
the right buttons, yet it works for me. Maybe when Pat Green
covers it I'll feel differently.
I quit my job at the factory and I know exactly
What it is that I am gonna do
I found a spot on a riverbank where I can go to drink
And forget about the day that I lost you
And I've got a cane pole in one hand and Jim Beam in the
other
Jerry Jeff's on the radio singing Redneck Mother
And I've got everything here by my side to keep myself satisfied
It may be crazy, I don't know, but it keeps you off of my mind
I've got no idea how you'd find out if The Posse is playing
a gig near you. Not sure how that might compare to Justice
is Coming anyway. But you can pick up a copy of the disc
at http://www.cd-tex.com/POSSE.html
Contact Al Kunz at kunz-at-rockzilla.net
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