The Wichitas - From Greetings ... To Adios mp3.com 42974

By William Michael Smith

	Bakersfield has mystical status in the world of country music. It has an image as something of an anti-Nashville, where the music is as real as the oilfield hands and other working folks who were listening to the Bakersfield sound before the media brought it to a world hungry for the raw, real thing. Thanks to Buck Owens, Don Rich, Tom Brumley, Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens, Roy Nichols, Wynn Stewart and other monumental honky tonk heroes, Bakersfield has achieved a status akin to a state capitol in the geography of country music. Since the smash hit 'Streets of Bakersfield' by Dwight Yoakem brought about the reemergence of Buck Owens and refocused attention on "the Bakersfield sound," Bakersfield remains extremely visible on the musical landscape and has a huge cultural cachet for what is essentially just a small oilfield town in the California hinterland. Do you ever wonder what Bakersfield sounds like these days? The Wichitas can provide a clue. They are four-piece country ensemble who ply their trade in Bakersfield's honky tonks and dance halls. What is surprising is that, rather than the retro Buckaroo influences that we might logically expect from a Bakersfield band, The Wichitas tend more toward the current trends in Americana and roots music, the new sounds of Texas and even alt-country than toward the stylized twanging of the Buckaroos or the hardcore country sound of Haggard. The Wichitas are more in Gram Parson's orbit than in Buck's. While they don't slavishly imitate any of the local stars, they still know what their working class audience is looking for: downhome lyrics, danceable beats, good picking, and authentic country harmonies, and these The Wichitas deliver aplenty. 'Greetings from Bakersfield' takes its cue from country standards like Bobby Bare's 'Detroit City.' There is a long tradition of songs about good old country boys who leave their brides or their mother and father behind in the old home place and go in search of work. Wandered past the drugstore, then he stopped and went inside To buy a 5 cent postcard for his Oklahoma bride He didn't have the heart to tell her things ain't what they seem So he told her pretty lies so she could hold on to their dream Said that the weed patch labor camp was a fancy hotel And told her that he got a job out pumpin' oil out of a well Pickin' grapes and oranges ain't what they had in mind Especially working all day for a dollar and a dime Pretty picture postcards in a drugstore window pane Sent my bride a message that our love is not in vain You know the writing on the front side says just what she'll want to hear Greetings from Bakersfield, wish you were here The band demonstrates their honky tonk credentials on 'S.O.S.,' a critique of the Bakersfield honky tonk life. There's plenty of steel guitar and twanging on this jukebox number, but again the music doesn't copy the traditional Bakersfield sound. The lyrics are right out of Buck or Merle's book, though, and Olen Taylor delivers them in a voice reminiscent of Webb Pierce or Jack Guthrie. Same old town, same old run around Well I'm half-way scared to pick some doll up Half afraid that it would follow Same old haunts, same old honky tonks Well, the gals down here are darned near scary And I'll wind up married Taylor has a fine way with expressing matters of the heart, and The Wichitas go into a No Depression zone on his fine tune, 'Heart.' This is alt-country as it should be, with rich harmonies, soulful twanging, and strong hooks from the Wilco school. And on Taylor's 'Tell Me All the Reasons,' he skates down the razor's edge of a tumultuous relationship. So your friends tend to think that I ain't no good They think that you should leave me, now I think that you should I'll tell you what, with your friends I agree But I never cared much what they thought of me They say that I'm lazy, I'm a lowlife, a bum They say I'm so stupid I'm an insult to dumb Turn on the lights, close the door, turn down the TV And tell me all the reasons you came back to me 'Little Too Much' has a Dwight Yoakem up tempo country-rockabilly sound. The track has some charming country doo-wop backup vocals and a generous dollop of guitarist Marc Lipco's Bakersfield twanging to top it off. First you tell me that it's over for good Then you say that maybe I misunderstood The Wichitas show just what a fun, raucous, jukejoint outfit they can be on the hillbilly stomp, 'Dry County.' This track is reminiscent of some of Carl Perkins work and straight out of Ernest Tubb's 'Tennessee Saturday Night' school of songwriting. Well you can't drink a beer if you live around here Unless you go down to Louisianne There's a bottle of wine just across the state line And it oughta be in my hands Well, this is Dry County, Arkansas where drinkin' is against the law But we'll get high in a hurry if you'll drive me to Missouri, out of Dry County, Arkansas The finale, 'Adios,' comes straight from the Dale Watson school of rev-it-up and take-it-down-the-road up tempo roadhouse country music. Lipco again puts his guitar in overdrive and gives it the gas. Well, I guess I'm gone She's got my stuff piled up out on the lawn It was a sight to see with all the sprinklers sprayin' And the neighbors sayin' "what went wrong" I guess I'm gone "From Greetings ...To Adios" is an album of fullblast beerjoint Americana jukebox material. It is well written and well played, unpretentious and heartfelt, and it leaves the overall impression that while the Wichitas are from Bakersfield, California, they are more in tune with the current trends in Texicana and alt-country than with any retro movements. Next time you are in the mood for a couple of beers and some country music, you could do a lot worse than "From Greetings ... To Adios." *The Wichitas are the kind of band that mp3.com was invented for, so go to www.mp3.com/thewichitas and get you a disc full of nuevo-Bakersfield honky tonk seranades. While the tracks are downloading, you can run to Stop and Go and get a twelve pack. Contact William Michael Smith at: wms-at-rockzilla.net

View My Guestbook Sign My Guestbook

The opinions expressed by Rockzillaworld columnists do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rockzillaworld or Rockzilla. All content ©2001Rockzillaworld. All rights reserved.No part of this site may be reproduced or copied without the permission of the site owner. This includes html code. No animals were harmed during the creation of Rockzillaworld.