I've talked about Jimbo Mathus on here before, but never at any length. He's one of my favorite artists simply for the fact that he is so multi-talented and unpredictable. He is a virtual chameleon of american music releasing albums that shift from jazz, ragtime, blues, country, southern rock, swamp rock, blues rock, pre-war blues, gospel....basically if it was ever sang near the Mississippi river he is a master of it. Most folks may not recognize his name, but they have surely heard his voice back in the 90's when his band the Squirrell Nut Zippers had a runaway hit with the song Hell. I will touch more on that in a later post, and for now just focus on his latest album.Now, if you have preconceived notions that this is going to be some kind of swing band album....throw those thoughts right out the damn window. As I alluded to earlier, Jimbo's solo career has been hard to pigeonhole into any one specific genre, and most of it has much more to do with the R.L Burnside and Charlie Patton than any kind of Count Basie or Bryan Setzer. This album here, happens to be his most country sounding album to date. With liberal flourishes of pedal steel, twangy licks, and heartbreak throughout.
The Album starts out with Good Old Time, which let's you know right off the bat what kind of album this is going to be....a COUNTRY album. Not to worry though, there are a couple splashes of blues and rock on here too. Such as the title track, the southern boogie of Tell It To The Judge, and the almost rockabilly Little Hand Big Gun. This album makes a very satisfying listen in the way it blends together perfectly like a whiskey on the rocks. The album as a whole is framed by some pretty solid country ballads such as Fallen Angel, Check Out Time, and Hiway At Night. My favorite song on here though has to be Tennessee Walker Mare. Which is a welcome addition to other horse songs in the genre such as Tennessee Stud, Chestnut Mare, and Caballo Diablo for those keeping track.
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