Tim Krekel
Happy Town
Free Falls Entertainment

by William Michael Smith

Sometimes you stand up
Sometimes you fall
Sometimes you wake up
To nothing at all
-- Tim Krekel/Tom Hambridge, "Best Thing I Never Had"

It just goes to show what a screwed up business it is that a roots rock junkie like me has never heard of Tim Krekel. For one thing, Krekel had a well thought of roots rock band in the '80s called The Sluggers who were respected enough to get opening gigs and tours with the likes of The Blasters and Stevie Ray. I plead guilty to not knowing The Sluggers, who had a large following in Tennessee, Kentucky and the South. The only excuse I can offer for my ignorance is that I lived outside the US for most of the '80s and consequently missed a lot.

Despite that, however, I'm still embarrassed to admit not recognizing a guy who's written hits for an unbelievable cross-genre list of artists. Krekel wrote No. 1 hits for Crystal Gayle (1984's "Turning Away") and Patty Loveless ("You Can Feel Bad," co-written with Matraca Berg). Martina McBride had a hit with a Berg-Krekel song, "Cry on the Shoulder of the Road." Krekel has placed songs with Deanna Carter, Kathy Mattea, Kim Richey, Jerry Reed, Vern Gosdin, Aaron Tippin, and B.J. Thomas in the country field. And from there, Krekel's list gets kinda crazy and kinda legendary: Ricky Nelson, Lonnie Mack, Delbert McClinton, Jason and the Scorchers (the cynical poke at the Nashville industry machine that became a Scorcher's cowpunk standard, "Greetings from Nashville"), and Canned Heat. Krekel has played guitar with Bo Diddley, Mark Germino, Skeeter Davis, Steve Forbert, Tracy Nelson, Pam Tillis, and Sam Bush. And for a real stunner, Krekel made a solo record for Capricorn Records in 1979 that just happens to be the first album Tony Brown ever produced. So for an "unknown," Krekel has one helluva pedigree. But there's more.

While still in his teens, Krekel was in a popular Louisville band called Dusty in the late '60s. Two members, Terry Adams and Steve Ferguson, were founding members of NRBQ, one of the original left side of Nashville turn-it-up-and-burn-'em-down ensembles. After Dusty split up, Krekel signed on to play guitar with Kris Kristofferson's buddy Billy Swan, who was touring behind his massive crossover hit "I Can Help." When Swan returned to Kristofferson's band, Krekel was soloing around Nashville when he was "discovered" by the legendary guitarist/producer Chet Atkins, who was instrumental in getting Krekel on as lead guitarist for Jimmy Buffett. Krekel played on Son of a Son of a Sailor and a couple of thousand tour dates with the head Parrothead before leaving in the 80's to front his own band.

After years of touring as well as working in the Nashville songwriter grind, Krekel faced a period of burnout and returned to his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky in 1993 to reconsider his musical career. He formed a new band and put out several locally successful records as The Groovebillys while continuing to work as a songwriter. His bright, highly energetic, upbeat, first solo effort on Ben Ewing's Free Falls label shows that Krekel has plenty of new ideas and is ready for a larger stage than Louisville offers. Twanglin' and janglin', Krekel's Happy Town has plenty of those cascading Rickenbacker 12-string Byrds sounds like the classics he grew up on. Drunk enough, you could be forgiven for thinking Tom Petty has a new album out when "Sunshine Baby" first blasts through your speakers. Sheryl Crow missed the boat not having this one on her latest "summertime" album. It would have made a perfect fit.

A superior roots guitarist, a top shelf songwriter, and a skilled vocalist, Krekel epitomizes the term "triple threat talent." Combine these talents in a guy who is in his fourth decade of toil in the music business and you get a grizzled, savvy veteran who tempers his considerable experience with a still burning hunger to perform. Despite a lengthy career, Happy Town marks the first time Krekel has recorded songs he's co-written. The writers Krekel works with on Happy Town provide a tip off to Krekel's stature within the other-side-of-Nashville underground scene. Not only do the credits here include Nashville writer stalwarts Matraca Berg ("It's a New Day"), Carter Wood ("Sunshine Baby"), and Tom Hambridge ("Best Thing I Never Had"), Krekel renders a killer version of "Come Around," which was an Americana hit for his co-writer Kim Richey on her 1999 album Glimmer and was included in Kevin Costner's film, For the Love of the Game.

But the home run here is the Stones-ish rocking title track Krekel wrote with Duane Jarvis. Both men have always been blessed with a wry sense of humor and an ability to catch a homespun, down-to-earth vibe in their own songs. "Happy Town" let's both instincts come to the fore. Jarvis says he likes to work with Krekel because "he's just so damn good." Too bad radio doesn't play tracks like these anymore, because on an album filled with great lines the spirit-lifting "Happy Town" has more than its share.

Neon flashin' from the bar down below
Sendin' out an invitation to a great late show
The jukebox is blastin' "Satisfaction"
And segues in to "Psychotic Reaction"
Bed springs sprung and wallpaper's peelin'
Need to get up, change the way I'm feelin'

Happy Town
Doesn't get started 'til the sun goes down
Happy Town
Sweat-stained, smoke-filled, lost and found

Krekel's voice often assumes a Keith Richards tone, but Krekel has more vocal flexibility and lacks the aging raspy croak that Richards often exhibits. Krekel's voice can be bright, pop-ish even, and while it can have a certain Richards aura, Krekel also can remind us of Petty and McGuinn and on occasion another Nashville left-sider, Kevin Gordon. Krekel has considerable vocal ability and is able to shape his vocal to appropriately fit the content he is working with. He is probably naturally pop-ish and bright, but he can do world-weary and dark if the song requires. My wife says there is a certain Springsteen thing in Krekel's singing, and that's seldom a bad voice to be compared to.

Another surprising track is a joint effort with Kim Richey, the chiding "Who You Think You Are." If this song had come out in the '60s, there's a good chance it could have shot to the top of the charts. Krekel, Tom Hambridge, and bassist Rick Harper come together in a wonderfully Beatle-ish harmony on the chorus of this smartly observant track that critiques self-importance and egotism as the music manages to move seamlessly from twangy American roots rock to a Revolver sound.

You don't ever have to wait in line
You've got better things to do
You show up late almost all the time
How dare they start a party without you?

You live in a great big house, drive a fancy car
Dine at the finest restaurants
Don't they know who you think you are?

You used to be somebody everybody knew
Now everyone's forgotten
Everyone but you

Good Southerner that he is, Krekel also has a taste for one-foot-in-the-gutter rocknroll. What better subject for a rocknroll song than a night on the streets of Memphis? Krekel lets his guitar ring on this one that reminds me of Kevin Gordon's groove. Or some of that tight, dirty bar band riff rock the Stones used to do before they discovered disco.

Worries and trouble, heartache and pain
The kinda things drive a man insane
They had a firm grip on my mind
Before I knew it I stumbled in line
I passed a bar, heard people laughin'
Carryin' on, havin' fun
Soul music playin' and couples dancin'
I couldn't stand it, I started to run

And I fell down in Memphis
Tripped over my untied shoes
Face down on Beale Street
But I'm alright now
I'm just a little bruised

While jamming rockers like "Fell Down in Memphis" and "Sugar From My Baby" ("When I was younger, I made a few mistakes/I'd pass up dinner, go right for the chocolate cake") are all about making a big happy noise and having some rocking fun, Krekel also knows when it's time to get serious. An old pro, Krekel knows when he has a lyric before him that needs the full serious treatment, the best arrangement and performance he's capable of. "Best Thing I Never Had" may have a humorous play on words for a hook, but Krekel sings and plays this one like he expects it to be a fullblown adult radio hit. The fact that it is not is more a reflection of corporate control of the airwaves and a stranglehold on our possibilities than of the song or Krekel's performance. This is one of those wistful yet powerfully played love songs you can listen to over and over. The Stones could do this one, but so could Anne Murray.

You were the best thing I never had
So good that it makes me sad
Now what am I gonna do
Got a big kiss just for you
All of the dreams that I've never seen
Like the ones where you're holdin' me
How could something good turn out so bad
You were the best thing I never had

My son is a guitarist for a country-rock neo-Texas band and was so taken with Krekel's album he bought a copy. I constantly throw new music at him, hoping to influence and develop his tastes. I've gotten quite a few quality CDs lately that I've directed him to, so I asked him recently if he'd gotten around to listening to several in the latest batch that had impressed me. His reply? "Nah, I'm still listening to that Krekel guy." Now that I've finished this review, I suppose it is safe to bring the Krekel disc out of hiding. My wife's been asking me what happened to it. I suspect I won't be seeing it again for quite a while once it makes its way into her vehicle.

* Happy Town is available at www.eartopia.com/krekel If smart lyrics and well played roots rock are your thing, you're definitely going to want this one.


Contact William Michael Smith at: wms-at-rockzilla.net

 
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