Betcha Can't Pigeonhole This Sound
Written: Oct 22 '02 (Updated Oct 23 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: 11 varied tracks offer more TF to enjoy.
Cons: 5 years in the making is way too long!
The Bottom Line: Intelligent and soulful music, from the heart and mind of one of today's greatest singer-songwriters. Absolutely outstanding craftsmanship and artistry.
|
|
|
| kcfoxy's Full Review: Raise The Roof - Tom Faulkner Movies |
Singer-songwriter Tom Faulkner has been around the musical block a time or two. Following in the tracks of his 5 star debut release, Lost In The Land Of Texico, this sophomore effort, Raise The Roof, proves the outstanding initial undertaking was no fluke.
Raise The Roof
I've found Tom's first release on Amazon.com, eBay, Half.com and his www.texico.com website, where word of mouth has been the primary selling point.
Like Texico, this website offers samples of all 11 tracks on Roof, so you can listen before you buy. Supplimenting the linear note lyrics and band credits, the website also offers a bio of Faulkner and some behind-the-scenes notes on the making of this album.
Through a generous phone interview with this talented Texan singer-songwriter, I came to find that much of Raise The Roof was conceived and written long before the July 2002 release. Most of the delay would seem to come from the double-edged sword of funding/distribution hassles.
Raise The Roof will grab you from the gate with its crystal clear production values. Faulkner agrees he strives for the finest quality recording, and his Serrano Records studio is a labor of love, with only state of the art equipment gathered over the years, bit by bit and piece by piece.
How impressive is it, to have songs like Blues Across America, my vote for first single, featuring guest artists of the caliber of fellow Louisiana native, Dr. John?. The good Doctor, actually Mac Rebennack, sat through take after take, and this following a sold-out show in Dallas the same night, just to get his vocals absolutely right.
This attention to detail begins with the first, title track, and Faulkner's use of his own mail carrier, to provide a Rodeo Announcer-like into to a song rife with R&B and gospel sass. A funky little roadhouse offers respite from the dog-eat-dog workaday world, and the listener is invited to join in "and check your problems at the door", as on Texico's marvelous Cajun romp, Do Bea's Dance:
Call of the wild,
Let all that primativa fall from inside out,
Hey now, listen up here, child,
You gotta push your hands above your head
And scream and shout.
So could we have a bit more fire, Bea?
Tryin' to raise the roof 'round here tonight.
Yeah,
We gotta push, push.
Where Texico establishes aural postcards, with blues-rock stories from the road, (with liberal dashes of Cajun and Tejano accordion), Roof, if anything, has a broader base of reference, and features even more complex time signatures.
Hispanic themes, (Chula Town and Vaya Con Dios), courtesy of two of the strongest, most compelling and lengthy tracks, are met with a probing ode to the vanishing Native American, on First American, which points up the artist's undeniable gift for storytelling:
There's a farmer in Penasco,
Laying on family sand,
There's a lowrider down in Espanola
And he's tearing up the government's land.
There's a string quartet recital,
Playing to the wealthy ears.
There's a boy and his dog
Gone down by the river
And they're shooting out empty beers.
So that's the way it goes,
Living where the First Man once did roam,
So that's the way it goes,
Living where the First Man once called home.
Faulkner hasn't forgotten his New Orleans roots, however, and a rollicking romp, with tongue fully planted in cheek, makes me want to laugh and dance at the same time on Ethyl's House, which makes Eight Is Enough look awfully whitebread. Of course, it was, as many of the old sitcoms were, where Ethyl's joint sounds like something with a Jerry Springer-style soap opera pathos.
This one also happens to be the only group effort, where the others are all Tom Faulkner originals, a similar ratio to Lost In The Land Of Texico.
Introspection is an area fully mined by any self-respecting singer-songwriter, and Tom doesn't disappoint with heartfelt numbers like What Should I, This Place In Your Heart, and the stately, waltz-like majesty of Wash Me In Angels; full of glorious harmonies and shadings.
Long-time associate, and co-producer, Adrian Cabello, rounds out his definitive Tejano accordion with a handful of tasty keyboard tracks. Given the necessary restrictions of live touring on a shoestring budget, Tom and Adrian often perform as a duo and this enhanced versatility should help additional true music lovers come into the Faulkner fold.
One fan at a time is hardly ideal for financial success, though both Bonnie Raitt and another of Tom's influences, Allen Touissant, raise an interesting question with What Is Success. No, that's not included here, but greater public exposure would surely serve to hurry up the funds-generating process.
A certain number of years on this planet have given this amazingly gifted singer/songwriter/vocalist/guitarist some mordant views on popular American lifestyles, and nowhere is this better showcased than on the slightly Weird Alesque poke at what passes for our daily television consumption, than on Too Much TV.
But unlike Weird Al, or possibly even closer kin, Cletus, Faulkner doesn't borrow melodies, he creates them. Do yourself a favor and stop by Faulkner's website, and if you can figure out a way to better define, or pigeonhole his works, drop me a line or a comment. I'm sorely afraid the only truth to this oft considered alt-country, or the all-encompassing Americana label, would be "universally great music". Period.
My Rating
Without much surprise, this gets the coveted 5 stars, with an overall rating of 95/100. My only niggle, and this is totally subjective, is the fact I go for more raunch and rock, (and the gravelly sensuous voice evidenced on tracks 1 and 5), and Tom's heart belongs to a song's melodic heart, hence a few more slow and personal songs than this born-to-dance middle-aged Musical Muse craves.
Two albums. Both 5 star, solid productions. Faulkner swears his third release will not be 5 years in the making. I pray that this is so, and admit to some jealousy for those who have yet to experience this real heartland sound, with liberal dashes of well-spiced rock n' roll.
Great Music To Play While: Stretching Your Musical Palate & Trying Something New
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
kcfoxy
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Member: Casey Stewart
Location: West Coast Of Mars
Reviews written: 935
Trusted by: 644 members
About Me:
Save the Earth...it's the only planet with Chocolate!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.