3916 - THE CODETALKERS - Now (2006)

THE CODETALKERS
''NOW''
JUNE 13 2006
44:58

1/Ike Stubblefield
Bobby Lee Rodgers/3:34
2/Broken Home
Bobby Lee Rodgers/4:14
3/Tumblin' Down
Bobby Lee Rodgers/4:28
4/Blow My Brains
Bobby Lee Rodgers/4:46
5/Worlds Apart
Bobby Lee Rodgers/4:14
6/Saved by the Same Thing
Bobby Lee Rodgers/4:31
7/Sagittarius Face
Bobby Lee Rodgers/4:53
8/Million Dollars
Tyler Greenwell / Col. Bruce Hampton / Ted Pecchio / Bobby Lee Rodgers/3:42
9/Niagara Falls
Bobby Lee Rodgers/4:24
10/Victor the Snake Man
Bobby Lee Rodgers/3:12
11/Sound Sister
Tyler Greenwell / Col. Bruce Hampton / Ted Pecchio / Bobby Lee Rodgers/3:00

Tyler Greenwell /Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Col. Bruce Hampton /Guitar, Vocals
Ted Pecchio /Bass, Vocals (Background)
Bobby Lee Rodgers /Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Organ, Vocals

REVIEW
by William Ruhlmann
The Codetalkers list Southern rock maverick Col. Bruce Hampton as a member, but, as has been true of Hampton's previous band associations, he has been less involved with the group as time has gone on. Here, he provides the childlike drawings on the cover and elsewhere, turns in a guitar solo on the closing track, "Sound Sister," does some singing, and gets credits on a couple of group-written tunes. But the dominant force in The Codetalkers is former Berklee School of Music teacher Bobby Lee Rodgers, who is, as might be expected, an accomplished guitarist. The rhythm section of Ted Pecchio and Tyler Greenwell provides propulsive grooves for Rodgers' songs, which are mostly in a jazzy, jam band style. None of the album's 12 tracks crosses the five-minute mark, but it's clear that the soloing could go on much longer if it were allowed to; probably, a live show of this material would run twice as long. Rodgers is a strong addition to the Southern music tradition of which the mercurial Hampton is a guiding spirit.

BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
The Codetalkers are a jam band formed by singer, guitarist, and banjo player Bobby Lee Rodgers and Col. Bruce Hampton. Rodgers spent five years in the 1990s as an instructor at the Berklee School of Music in Boston before moving to Atlanta, GA, in 1999. At a Halloween party, he met veteran musician Hampton (Hampton Grease Band, the Aquarium Rescue Unit), and they began playing together as The Codetalkers soon after. Bootleg Live! appeared in 2000, followed in 2001 by a self-titled studio recording (reissued in 2004 as Deluxe Edition). After various personnel changes, the lineup solidified in 2004 with the rhythm section of bassist Ted Pecchio and drummer Tyler Greenwell. This configuration recorded Now, released on June 13, 2006.

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3915 - THE CODETALKERS - Dee-Lux Uh-dish-un (2004)

THE CODETALKERS
''DEE-LUX UH-DISH-UN''
AUGUST 10 2004
58:50

1. Body in the Lake/6:44
2. Grandma/4:35
3. Did My Time/4:30
4. Saturn/7:05
5. Lima/6:00
6. I'm So Glad/4:58
7. UFO/4:48
8. Rice Clients/3:55
9. Isles of Langerhan/4:39
10. Something Wrong/2:55
11. Beggin'/4:47
12. Apple Pie (Bonus Track)/3:54

Tyler Greenwell /Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Col. Bruce Hampton /Additional Personnel, Guitar, Vocals
Bobby Lee Rodgers /Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Organ, Vocals
Swan /Guitar (Bass)

REVIEW
by Stewart Mason
The self-titled debut album by the Code Talkers originally came out in 2001, but that self-released edition had very limited distribution, and it wasn't until 2004's reissue under the title Deluxe Edition that most fans of Col. Bruce Hampton's previous outfits discovered his new incarnation. A shame, since these are among Hampton's best songs; freed from the noodly tendencies of the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Hampton and his co-leader, Bobby Lee Rodgers, here venture closer to the skewed pop of NRBQ. (Actually, the ultraquirky "Rice Clients" steers straight to They Might Be Giants land.) The songs are catchy in a variety of roots rocking styles, with the rockabilly snap of "Beggin'" and the dry pop/rock wit of "Body in the Lake" particular highlights. The difference between the out of print original copy and Deluxe Edition is new artwork and the attention of a minor new song, a Hampton-Rodgers duet called "Something Wrong." If you have the first edition, giving Deluxe Edition a pass won't be a hardship, but Hampton fans and other aficionados of the poppier side of jam bands should seek it out.

BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
The Codetalkers are a jam band formed by singer, guitarist, and banjo player Bobby Lee Rodgers and Col. Bruce Hampton. Rodgers spent five years in the 1990s as an instructor at the Berklee School of Music in Boston before moving to Atlanta, GA, in 1999. At a Halloween party, he met veteran musician Hampton (Hampton Grease Band, the Aquarium Rescue Unit), and they began playing together as The Codetalkers soon after. Bootleg Live! appeared in 2000, followed in 2001 by a self-titled studio recording (reissued in 2004 as Deluxe Edition). After various personnel changes, the lineup solidified in 2004 with the rhythm section of bassist Ted Pecchio and drummer Tyler Greenwell. This configuration recorded Now, released on June 13, 2006.

DoWnLoAd