Americana Music Reviews

 

Andy Gorwell
Uprooted
Cavalier Music
by David Pilot

Parking lot at the Lone Star Café and Club. Rockzilla hands a reviewer a box of CDs and says "Get crankin'." Reviewer digs through the box, nods at familiar names, groans at one or two others, then spots Andy Gorwell. Says, "Who the hell is this?" Rockzilla says, "Get crankin'."

CD in, 1972 comes pouring out. It's Joe Walsh! No. Wait. I got it. It's Gram Parsons. Yeah. That's it. Sorta sunny, plunky-sounding country rock that feels a lot like an open highway. Somebody slip the wrong disc in this jewel case? Thought I was gonna listen to Andy Gorwell. What's this song called? "Diesel"? What's that about? Beats me, but it sounds like something I've heard before. Beggar's Banquet, maybe? All of the above? Who cares? Cruising music. Truckin' song. I like truckin' songs. Wonder who the hell Andy Gorwell is, though, and where he's from that kept me from hearing all this before.

The home office. The Internet. Google search. Yeah, buddy. Lessee, Andy Gorwell. What's that? Australia? Oz? Okay, free pass for not having heard of him. Feel better now. It's not like his name is Kasey Chambers, for chrissakes. Maybe explains some of the wide-open feel, though. Australia's got almost as much highway as Texas, right? And a bit more desert? This "Diamonds" song sounds familiar, too. This must be the one that got me thinking about the Stones. Gorwell's scratchy tenor isn't Jagger, but the feel is there.

Hold the weddin'. The Stones did honky tonk as well as any buncha Brits I can think of offhand, but they never laid down a pedal steel like this one. What's this song called? "Old Trains." Hmmm. I like train songs, too. Where'd I see this guy's an Aussie? This sounds like El Paso or something. Maybe Amarillo. Do I know this guy on the steel? It sounds like the ghost of Buddy Emmons, I swear to God it does. Whoever produced the record needs to get a better feel for a steel's value and understand the word "nuance," but still, the work itself is impeccable and it's getting to me. Ed Bates. That's the guy's name. Okay. Should I know him? Whew. He's an Aussie, too. I have an excuse.

Where was I? Oh, yeah. "Anticipating." This sounds a lot like the Eagles, say in "Take It Easy" mode.

I've been waitin'
Anticipatin'
All my love
Since I met you
I can't sleep at night
And through all the darkness
Now I see the light
Well alright

Yeah, I like the Eagles, but they did this sound better. Gorwell's three for four. Screw it. What's next? Damn. This I like. What's it called? "Old Friend the Blues"? This is smooth in the rough and edgy way that made Nebraska one of my all-time favorites. Just soothing enough to be unsettling. Perfect. Come to think of it, though, this vocal sounds a lot like Adam Carroll. I mean a lot like him. The harp is dancing around the melody just right. That a campfire I smell?

So you say
You wanna be
A honky tonk star
Singing Hank Williams songs
In smoky bars
But you know
You ain't gonna get too far
I've got you, old friend
The blues

Oh man, a dobro too? Yeah. Hell yeah. On a woman song. I like woman songs. Wait. What did he just say? "Send me in a woman/But you better make it fast/I don't mind she drinks the liquor/Long as she ain't got a mustache/But don't send me in a hooker/I haven't got the cash/Send me in a woman/Who can treat her man like trash?" Did I hear that right? The hell does that mean? Beats me. This Bakersfield groove is working, though. Anybody got a light?

Aw, damn. Did we take a turn into sap all of a sudden? I'm hearing a lot of lovelorn pining here. What's this one called? "Take You Home Tonight." Maybe it won't suck after all. Hell. Never mind. Yeah, this isn't too bad. Sort of a 1:30 in the morning feel, where you see that one girl who looked about average at 10pm but who's right this very minute sprouting gossamer wings in the cigarette smoke as closing time sneaks up? Yeah. I remember this song. Or at least this feeling. Sometimes I even miss it. Maybe that's why this "Low Down Stinkin' Bars" sounds good too. 'Course I never hit 'em with the band, but if I had, yep, this is how I'da looked at it too. Gonna drink up all your liquor and play the night away. Hell yeah.

Well, shit! This is where I got all those Stones vibes. How'd I miss this the first time through? "No Expectations." This acoustic version's different. Maybe that's how it snuck by. What's up with these guitar licks? They're familiar, but they sound sorta like Hawaii, too. Keith live at Molokai? The hell you say. This is odd. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 57th Annual Jagger Luau. Please stow your leis neatly and clasp your lays' hands firmly as the sun sets over the Pacific.

Ahh, here's the roadhouse again. Much better. "Hit the Road," eh? The harp's on the money again, sounding a lot like a lonesome train whistle out on the delta. And this picking has just the right amount of urgency. Must be time for the roadies, err, the band to pack up and head for the next neon sign.

Me, too. I have to dig around a bit at www.geocities.com/andygorwell/index.html and see if I can find enough background info on this Gorwell guy to write a decent review. Should probably swing by www.cavaliermusic.com, too and see if I can turn up any nuggets. I'll get to that just as soon as I refill my whiskey and run through Uprooted again. Damn, I like this record, and who cares if I don't have a clue how I'm going to say so for Rockzilla. I do know it says here Andy Gorwell wrote every one of these songs except the Stones cover, and I know they all sounded familiar without sounding like they were blatantly plagiarized. Maybe I'll find something in that to write about. Meantime, which volume knob is it again? Stupid whiskey. Stupid soul-soothing blues country rock making me feel indestructible again. Stupid world where I never heard Andy Gorwell before. Pisses me off.

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

 
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