| Dave
Alvin King
Wilkie by Matt
Merta |
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Electric Dave is back! This is the album that die-hard Alvin fans have been wanting for years. While DA’s last few discs have been acoustic-oriented (including the Grammy-winning Public Domain), Ashgrove grabs the whiskey-fueled blues licks that helped give the legendary Blasters their energy and made Alvin what all others in the roots-rock world wish they could be. He is a poet, in the same way that Woody Guthrie, Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan are poets: He writes amazing stories beautifully interwoven with the sound of a six-string. The opening title cut talks of his experiences learning from the blues masters while still in his teens. “Out of Control” gives us the image of an ordinary evil man, someone all of us have been at one time. Then there is the tender tribute to getting old, “The Man in the Bed.” All of the cuts have his raspy common-man vocals that give the impression that “he’s been there.” And while he trades guitar chores with producer Greg Leisz, it is Alvin’s trademark Stratocaster sound that shows him to be the most underrated lead guitarist in the biz. Ashgrove is a must-listen, and is more proof that Alvin is truly the King of Americana Music. Eyeing the members of King Wilkie, bluegrass music is the last thing that you would expect them to be playing. They look more like members of The Strokes than Flatt & Scruggs. But bluegrass is what they do play, and do it extremely well. The 13 cuts on this disc (including the instrumental “West 40” serving as an intro and outro, giving the record a live-performance feel) show that they have the goods. Just one listen to the harmonies of co-vocalists Reid Burgess and John McDonald will prove that these guys are serious about their craft. Interspersed among some fine originals (“Goodbye So Long” and the tragic ballad “Lee & Paige” are highlights) are fine covers of Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel #7” (Burgess hits those yodels beautifully) and the traditional standard “Little Birdie.” Tasty licks abound courtesy of Abe Spear on banjo and Nick Reeb on fiddle throughout. All in all, these boys have what it takes to make bluegrass music “cool” to the younger crowd. —Matt Merta Dave
Alvin and King Wilkie perform Friday, July 9 at The Ark, 316 S.
Main, Ann Arbor. (734) 761-1800.
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