The Morells Slewfoot Records SF802

By William Michael Smith

	Looking for a killer roots rockin' party record? Look no further, The Morells are here for your drinking, dancing and laughing pleasure. With song titles like 'Hair of the Dog,' 'I'm a Hog for You, Baby,' and 'Double Crossin' Liquor' coupled to one of the country's finest bar bands, this record is all smiles, giggles and shake your booty. Never heard of the Morells? Well, that's not surprising, since the last time they put out a record was 1982. And notice I said "record," not CD. As in 33 rpm vinyl, Pilgrim. While The Morells may not be a household name, those who have indulged in roots rock and Americana for the past 20 years will have no problem recognizing the usual suspects. It's really a simple matter of mathematics. Take Springfield, Missouri's legendary Skeletons, subtract one drummer who plays continually for Dave Alvin these days (Bobby Loyd Hicks), add one drummer (Ron Gremp, an original Morell from the 1982 record and tour), and, voila, the sum is The Morells. Some bands might call this a "side project" but The Skeletons haven't put out a record since 1997, and the band members are in such demand both as producers and as sidemen that the band seldom plays, though it certainly has never officially disbanded. Gremp, who has worked with all the other Morells on various projects for other artists, and the other band members are all mainstays on the roots music scene. Morells bassist and producer Lou Whitney runs neck and neck with Nashville's R. S. Field as one of the busiest roots rock producer/engineers in the business, his latest project being the acclaimed honky-tonk disc "Life and 20" by the Domino Kings. Over the past few years, Whitney has also played, produced or engineered for Jonathan Richman, Cornell Hurd, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Clarence Brewer, the Del-Lords, Blue Mountain, Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys, Syd Straw, and Wilco. So while he may not be married to Madonna or smiling from the cover of Rolling Stone, Whitney is definitely a big time force in the roots rock game. Keyboardist extraordinaire Joe Terry has also worked in Dave Alvin's road band and played on Alvin's records the past few years, including the 2000 Grammy winning "Public Domain." Terry produced and played on Robbie Fulks' critically acclaimed "Let's Kill Saturday Night" and he played on several other Fulks' albums, including his recent "13 Hillbilly Giants." Guitarist Donnie Thompson, one of the tastiest hot licks pickers on the scene today, is a Fulks regular as well as an in demand studio session player. All three men played on Dallas Wayne's excellent retro country album, "Big Thinkin'" The new Morell's record, which in early times might be described as "jumpin'," is filled with gag numbers, novelties, joke lines, barroom philosophy and some wicked covers of slightly obscure and excessively off-center numbers that aren't "classics" but probably should have been. These guys could make this record half-drunk with one eye closed, but they didn't. The playing and the sound is first rate, and the atmosphere is light and good-timing. This isn't the Thinking Person's rock record. There are no deep spiritual insights or any attempts to save the rainforests and free political prisoners. In fact, this record will likely be boycotted by the Politically Correct among us. Too bad, because they will have missed a fine time and some sizzling playing. I never saw any of the Politically Correct buy a round anyway, so I don't think we or the Morells will miss them if they pull a no-show. The band covers a range of styles from jump blues to country cornpone to high speed rockabilly to 1970's redneck rock to the blues stratospherics of legendary guitarist Roy Buchanan with casual deftness. They even throw in the occasional kazoo solo in the midst of a reggae-tinged drinking song, but it all works. Part of the record is filled with loopy comic redneck laments, but the rest is made up of fresh and quite vital reinterpretations of fairly obscure but immensely likeable songs. The subject matter is standard bar band issue: hangovers, drinking, woman problems, without-woman problems, money, and cars. And more drinking. I need another shot of the hair of the dog that bit me If you can't serve me here, sir, I'll just take it with me I never met a twelve-step program made to fit me So I'll just have another shot of the hair of the dog that bit me Now that's poetry, is it not. There are a couple of tracks where the band really gets to show off. Their cover of guitar eccentric Ben Vaughn's 'Seven Days Without Love (Makes One Weak)' is given a 50's treatment with the addition of Drifters-like harmonies. Thompson flashes some mean funky guitar chops. The rockabilly rave up number 'Hot Rod Baby' lets the band work out like The Skeletons in disguise that they are. Thompson cuts loose with a shower of hot licks and he and Whitney kick their parts up to some highly exhilarating double time on the breaks. The echoed voice effect gives this cut that Gene Vincent 'Race With the Devil' authenticity. 'Last Night I Spent My Money' is a high-spirited, grooving Ozark backwoods sing-a-long that stays fairly true to the standard clichés of the genre: I got my check, I went to the bar, and I spent my money, I'll be broke 'til I get paid again. But there is no regret; if you're going to be broke, the singer implies, this is the best way to achieve that state. There is no doubt that given the chance to back up and reconsider, the singer would do it just the same way again. 'Don't Let Your Baby Buy A Car,' one of the few originals on the album, is one of those politically incorrect, totally male-biased honky-tonk songs the likes of which Charlie Robison has fashioned a whole career with. Fellow comes home from work and "his girl friend had a car parked in his front yard." The next thing this fellow knows the girlfriend is continually gone from the home front and he sinks to "getting heavy into softball and dippin' snuff, playing shuffleboard for beers all night down at some old bar, and he swears everything was cool until she got that car." This droll tune finds Whitney somewhere in the "I'm Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home" zone as he talks his way through this redneck domestic psycho-tragedy. For old survivors of the Austin progressive country era, one highlight of the record is a remake of Commander Cody's macho-man loner anthem, 'Home In My Hand.' The Morells give a slower, bluesier treatment than the Commander's version and Thompson gets wicked with his Telecaster again. I'm surprised we aren't hearing this cut on both straight country and Americana radio stations, at least here in Texas where 25 years later people are still calling radio stations to request 'Hot Rod Lincoln,' 'Down to Seeds and Stems Again' and 'Semi Truck' every time some jock says the request lines are open. Another Ben Vaughn composition, 'Gimme, Gimme, Gimme' has that Elvis "hubba hubba" vocal and some very polished stops and punches that will make this cut a swing dancer's delight. Bassist Whitney and Terry on organ really get a chance to show their skills and they make the most of the opportunity. There are many familiar versions of the old Leiber/Stoller tune 'I'm A Hog For Your Baby', but the Morells have reworked the song and given it a Dave Edmunds 70's Brit-rock sound that is magical. This is one of those cuts that just screams "Everybody do The Jerk." The rhythm section holds a tight, fast groove and Thompson throws off more sparks than a welder on overtime. Somehow it seems amazing that a band can surface almost two decades after their last album ­ and literally have seen a complete paradigm shift in recording and playback technology between recordings ­ and sound just as fresh and relevant and free wheeling as the testosterone-charged twenty somethings they were in the Age of Vinyl. As good as this record is, let's hope it doesn't take them 20 years to record another. *If you want to know what rock stars dressed like in the Dark Ages, check out the photos at www.themorells.com Parental guidance is recommended. Contact William Michael Smith at: wms-at-rockzilla.net

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