Americana Music Reviews

 

Michael Ubaldini
Rock 'n Roll Saloon
Blackwater Records

by David Pilot

What does one do with a new disc that appears in the mail, adrift in newspaper articles and promotional write-ups trumpeting the "California Springsteen"? Particularly when one is a long-time and unrelenting fan of the Asbury Park original version, in the midst of coming to terms with The Rising while turning Nebraska up to ten at the house and singing "The River" to Charlotte yuppies out the truck window on the way to work? In what amounts to the weakest answer to a lead-in question in the history of rockzilla.net, well, one pops the disc in and gives it a listen. Maybe a couple.

At first run-through, Orange County, CA native Michael Ubaldini's Rock 'n Roll Saloon sounds a lot like Bryan Adams back in the day. Say, the Cuts Like A Knife era, just before Run To You drew raves and turned the Canadian roots-rocker into a Nuevo-Euro pop something or other who churns out songs these days for the likes of Celine Dion. What it generally does not sound like is Springsteen, though in fairness who really can sound like the Boss anymore? There's only one Clarence Clemons out there, and he's occupied with the E Streeters' reunion. So much for the first run-through on Rock n Roll Saloon. A lot of great-sounding straight ahead roots rock, with a raw but accessible and honest vocal keeping the ship steady. Shades of Adams and Mellencamp, with some of the Teddy Morgan Southwest rock aura thrown in for good measure.

But that second listen, damn. From the opening track's driving rhythm guitar and lead-in vocal channeling Johnny Cash in murder mode, this thing started to take a very real shape. "One Step" brings the venom and a degree of emotional authenticity not normally heard in music these days, all dressed up with a pretty hook in the chorus guaranteed to keep the feet tapping and cold beer flowing while the weight of a bad relationship sinks in. "The Vulture" keeps the anger percolating, still couched in accessible though far more menacing guitar licks behind vocals showing tinges of Eddie Vedder's influence. Thankfully the atonal "qualities" of Pearl Jam don't overtake the tune completely.

Springsteen and Texas music fans will find a lot to like here, starting with "Tears Of A Lonesome Train." The upbeat arrangement and incessantly optimistic rhythm section evoke the Boss while the lyric is straight from the notebooks of artists like Gilmore and Ely:

To live a life as empty as these plains
There ain't no nighttime boys
Callin' out my name
Only tears of a lonesome train
To spend my days alone

On the heels of local hero Ubaldini's latest efforts, 1999's Acoustic Rumble and the subsequent American Blood, this is an astonishing record showcasing a wealth of personal growth. Where Rumble drew critical acclaim as a listenable Ghost of Tom Joad full of consistently worthwhile music and equally vibrant lyrics, Blood set the table for Ubaldini's legacy as a thoughtful roots rocker more than capable of fronting a band afire. It also stayed in a political vein that echoed Bruce's career arc without benefit of a meaningful library to amplify its cries. Here, Ubaldini appears to note the chasm and return to the basics, covering the relationships and beautiful bar women and empty bottles while leaving the politics where it belongs - - somewhere the hell away from rock and roll.

The Adams correlation is perhaps never more apparent than on the largely acoustic and entirely captivating "The Day The Sky Came Rolling Down." Like Adams in his more reflective moments, Ubaldini knows exactly how to apply his worn vocal cords to a heartfelt lyric. If you were a sucker for "The Best Was Yet To Come" back in 1983, this is the first song you want to queue up on Rock n Roll Saloon. The apocalyptic lyric deals with exactly none of the man/woman trivia of the Adams tune, but the musical feel and attention to nuanced detail are a mirror image. Here the sky, though, really does fall, and the desert imagery and religious metaphor are, frankly, stunning. I'd call it an "American Pie" for the 21st century if I didn't think my editor would immediately tell me to curtail the drinking during writing.

The immediate crush of life comes back full-force quickly, though, as "Diamond Eyes" rocks and hooks like the best of the 80's roots acts in a battle of the bands with newer efforts like Wilco and the Old 97s. Then "The One That Got Away" takes the breath away. Between Mick Weiland's drums and Jerry Adamos' bass, this cut has no chance in hell at slowing down. Ubaldini again evokes Bryan Adams' vocals, at times turning the cut into what could easily pass, from a vocal perspective, into the lost verses that would have taken "Summer of '69" over the top.

Let's get one thing straight, though - - these comparisons are favorable. Ubaldini is capable of showcasing the best of styles from Cash, Springsteen, Adams, Hank and even newer acts like the Derailers (see "Last Bus to Seattle") with equal ease, but doesn't do so at the expense of his own unique voice. He's an accomplished guitarist and harmonica player, and knows his way around a keyboard as well. "If I Was Without You," a stripped-down and smooth paean to the relationship that holds it all together, makes that point clear. The production on this track is a bit rough, evidently intentional, as the vocals slide into an almost mono mode and add pain to the implied threat in the lyric:

If I was without you
In a crowded room of friends
I'd be alone
If I was without you
Being with you is something I wish
I'd never known
Or even knew
If I was without you

But the purest look at Michael Ubaldini comes with the final cut, the incredibly named (I am not making this up) "Talkin' End Of The World Double Paranoid Schizophrenic Blues."

Got arrested for a DUI
Parked in the driveway
I don't know why
Took my license for
A year you see
And they sentenced me
To either jail or recovery
It was either that or jail, man
I said, Judge
Point the way to therapy, please.

The story from there details therapy, its fucked-up denizens and aftermath, and leans heavily on a striking harmonica for life. Other aspects of California life get skewered post-recovery, including transgendered personages relying on silicone to alter forever what the Almighty once intended. At times it's funnier than "Alice's Restaurant," and offers an intriguing look at a largely unknown songwriter who's got something to offer. You can get a taste of Ubaldini's take on life at www.rocknrollpoet.com. You aren't going to catch him on the road anytime soon, because labels and clubs and radio outside of Orange County don't know who the hell he is. Their loss. You can find out for yourself at Michael's site, and you can tell him you heard it here first. Check out Rock n Roll Saloon, and get some of his earlier work as well. You'll find yourself enamored of an artist who writes songs unfailingly original yet familiar in every way, and you'll find yourself singing along in a hurry.

Contact David Pilot at: tailgunner-at-rockzilla.net

 
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