BLACKIE AND THE RODEO KINGS
''SWINGING FROM THE CHAINS OF LOVE''
NOVEMBER 11 2008
55:07
1/Stoned
Stephen Fearing / Wilson/3:47
2/49 Tons
Fred Eaglesmith/3:50
3/Water or Gasoline
Gordon / Linden/4:14
4/Swinging from the Chains of Love
Stephen Fearing / Wilson/3:44
5/Heaven for a Lonely Man
Stephen Fearing / White/3:28
6/Remedy
Colin Linden / Jim Weider/4:07
7/Folsom Prison Blues
John R. Cash/4:35
8/Sometimes It Comes so Easy
Willie P. Bennett/5:05
9/The Caves of Jericho
Bell / Helm / Simon/4:54
10/If I Catch You Crying
Stephen Fearing / White/4:29
11/Vale of Tears
Janice Powers/3:28
12/Lean on Your Peers
Colin Cripps / Tom Wilson/4:00
13/White Line
Willie P. Bennett/4:19
14/Andrew's Waltz
Willie P. Bennett/1:06
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Considering the amount of quality music the ad hoc Canadian singer/songwriter "supergroup" has released under the Blackie & the Rodeo Kings moniker -- five albums, including a double from 1996-2007 -- this 14-song, 55-minute set should have used the extra 20 minutes of its CD playing time to better advantage. The trio -- Colin Linden, Tom Wilson, and Stephen Fearing, all solo artists with well-regarded catalogs of their own -- began life by covering the songs of journeyman Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett before expanding into original material. At the very least, the tune that provided the unique name for their outfit could have been included in this recap of highlights. Regardless, this is a solid overview of the threesome's best work, with a few rarities tossed in. It was released at an auspicious time, just after the death of Bennett and veteran keyboardist Richard Bell, and not surprisingly, the album is dedicated to both. The opening "Stoned" was a minor hit and sets the stage nicely with its talk-sung vocals, bluesy feel, and rootsy mentality that recalls Shawn Mullins and quotes Warren Zevon. Although the sound leans toward the less-rocking side of Tom Petty, it's obviously the Band, with its three-pronged vocal attack, that has most inspired BARK. They make that evident both in the extensive liner notes (19 pages) and songs such as a cover of the Band's "The Caves of Jericho" (recorded after Robbie Robertson left) and "Vale of Tears" that shimmers with the dark, swampy undercurrents that informed Bob Dylan's backing outfit's best work. All three BARK singers have a similar, dusky vocal approach even though they don't harmonize as much as you'd expect, preferring to trade leads. Tracks such as "Remedy" chug along with a lazy yet insistent vibe and singalong choruses that make you think it must be because their albums were difficult to obtain in the States that they have such a low profile in America. A tough, ragged cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" that sets the serial killer lyrics to taut, overdriven drums is rescued from an obscure Cash tribute album, and the twangy title track hints at the deep country at the core of BARK's influences. Fearing's "Heaven for a Lonely Man" is a lost gem; its appearance here is a reminder of how talented and underappreciated these guys have been. Perhaps the next 11 years will result in the trio finding the commercial crossover audience that has thus far eluded this classy side project.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming One of Canada's leading roots rock acts, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings is a collaboration between three well-respected blues, folk, and rock musicians, Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson. Fearing is a Vancouver-born, Irish-raised singer/songwriter who returned to the city of his birth in 1981; since 1986, he's released a number of critically acclaimed albums, and is a multiple Juno-award winner. Colin Linden hails from Toronto, and has collaborated with artists as varied as Leon Redbone, Bruce Cockburn, Robert Plant, and the Band, as well as producing albums for a number of artists and releasing several fine solo albums. And Tom Wilson, from Hamilton, Ontario, was the leader of the celebrated blues-rock band Junkhouse before going on to a successful career as a solo artist and songwriter. Fearing, Linden, and Wilson were friends and colleagues who had frequently appeared on each other's albums, and in 1996, they joined forces to pay homage to Willie P. Bennett, a singer and songwriter from Southern Ontario who won a cult following (and later a Juno award) for his powerful, evocative story songs. The trio recorded an album of Bennett's songs called High or Hurtin': The Songs of Willie P. Bennett, and released it under the group name Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, a reference to the title of an album Bennett released in 1978. The album was well received both commercially and critically, and in 1999, the three reconvened for a second album, Kings of Love, in which they covered songs from a variety of different tunesmiths, as well as presenting a few original numbers. In 2004, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings released Bark, their first album dominated by original material, which solidified the group's solid, scrappy fusion of blues, country, and rock influences. In the fall of 2006, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings issued Let's Frolic, which also featured what had become the group's regular rhythm section, bassist John Dymond and drummer Gary Craig, as well as guest vocals from Pam Tillis. The band cut enough material during the Let's Frolic sessions that a second album of outtakes, Let's Frolic Again, appeared in the spring of 2008. The Rodeo Kings returned to their collaborative roots on 2011's Kings and Queens, in which each of the 14 tracks featured duet vocals from a different female artist, including Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, Lucinda Williams, Rosanne Cash, Cassandra Wilson, and Patti Scialfa.
DoWnLoAd
''SWINGING FROM THE CHAINS OF LOVE''
NOVEMBER 11 2008
55:07
1/Stoned
Stephen Fearing / Wilson/3:47
2/49 Tons
Fred Eaglesmith/3:50
3/Water or Gasoline
Gordon / Linden/4:14
4/Swinging from the Chains of Love
Stephen Fearing / Wilson/3:44
5/Heaven for a Lonely Man
Stephen Fearing / White/3:28
6/Remedy
Colin Linden / Jim Weider/4:07
7/Folsom Prison Blues
John R. Cash/4:35
8/Sometimes It Comes so Easy
Willie P. Bennett/5:05
9/The Caves of Jericho
Bell / Helm / Simon/4:54
10/If I Catch You Crying
Stephen Fearing / White/4:29
11/Vale of Tears
Janice Powers/3:28
12/Lean on Your Peers
Colin Cripps / Tom Wilson/4:00
13/White Line
Willie P. Bennett/4:19
14/Andrew's Waltz
Willie P. Bennett/1:06
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Considering the amount of quality music the ad hoc Canadian singer/songwriter "supergroup" has released under the Blackie & the Rodeo Kings moniker -- five albums, including a double from 1996-2007 -- this 14-song, 55-minute set should have used the extra 20 minutes of its CD playing time to better advantage. The trio -- Colin Linden, Tom Wilson, and Stephen Fearing, all solo artists with well-regarded catalogs of their own -- began life by covering the songs of journeyman Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett before expanding into original material. At the very least, the tune that provided the unique name for their outfit could have been included in this recap of highlights. Regardless, this is a solid overview of the threesome's best work, with a few rarities tossed in. It was released at an auspicious time, just after the death of Bennett and veteran keyboardist Richard Bell, and not surprisingly, the album is dedicated to both. The opening "Stoned" was a minor hit and sets the stage nicely with its talk-sung vocals, bluesy feel, and rootsy mentality that recalls Shawn Mullins and quotes Warren Zevon. Although the sound leans toward the less-rocking side of Tom Petty, it's obviously the Band, with its three-pronged vocal attack, that has most inspired BARK. They make that evident both in the extensive liner notes (19 pages) and songs such as a cover of the Band's "The Caves of Jericho" (recorded after Robbie Robertson left) and "Vale of Tears" that shimmers with the dark, swampy undercurrents that informed Bob Dylan's backing outfit's best work. All three BARK singers have a similar, dusky vocal approach even though they don't harmonize as much as you'd expect, preferring to trade leads. Tracks such as "Remedy" chug along with a lazy yet insistent vibe and singalong choruses that make you think it must be because their albums were difficult to obtain in the States that they have such a low profile in America. A tough, ragged cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" that sets the serial killer lyrics to taut, overdriven drums is rescued from an obscure Cash tribute album, and the twangy title track hints at the deep country at the core of BARK's influences. Fearing's "Heaven for a Lonely Man" is a lost gem; its appearance here is a reminder of how talented and underappreciated these guys have been. Perhaps the next 11 years will result in the trio finding the commercial crossover audience that has thus far eluded this classy side project.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming One of Canada's leading roots rock acts, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings is a collaboration between three well-respected blues, folk, and rock musicians, Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson. Fearing is a Vancouver-born, Irish-raised singer/songwriter who returned to the city of his birth in 1981; since 1986, he's released a number of critically acclaimed albums, and is a multiple Juno-award winner. Colin Linden hails from Toronto, and has collaborated with artists as varied as Leon Redbone, Bruce Cockburn, Robert Plant, and the Band, as well as producing albums for a number of artists and releasing several fine solo albums. And Tom Wilson, from Hamilton, Ontario, was the leader of the celebrated blues-rock band Junkhouse before going on to a successful career as a solo artist and songwriter. Fearing, Linden, and Wilson were friends and colleagues who had frequently appeared on each other's albums, and in 1996, they joined forces to pay homage to Willie P. Bennett, a singer and songwriter from Southern Ontario who won a cult following (and later a Juno award) for his powerful, evocative story songs. The trio recorded an album of Bennett's songs called High or Hurtin': The Songs of Willie P. Bennett, and released it under the group name Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, a reference to the title of an album Bennett released in 1978. The album was well received both commercially and critically, and in 1999, the three reconvened for a second album, Kings of Love, in which they covered songs from a variety of different tunesmiths, as well as presenting a few original numbers. In 2004, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings released Bark, their first album dominated by original material, which solidified the group's solid, scrappy fusion of blues, country, and rock influences. In the fall of 2006, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings issued Let's Frolic, which also featured what had become the group's regular rhythm section, bassist John Dymond and drummer Gary Craig, as well as guest vocals from Pam Tillis. The band cut enough material during the Let's Frolic sessions that a second album of outtakes, Let's Frolic Again, appeared in the spring of 2008. The Rodeo Kings returned to their collaborative roots on 2011's Kings and Queens, in which each of the 14 tracks featured duet vocals from a different female artist, including Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, Lucinda Williams, Rosanne Cash, Cassandra Wilson, and Patti Scialfa.
DoWnLoAd
