CD review: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, “Speed of Life”
A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Country
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band “Speed of Life” (Sugar Hill Records)
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band marks more than four decades of making music with “Speed of Life,” the group’s first studio album in five years.
The venerable band — which currently includes singer/guitarist Jeff Hanna, singer/percussionist Jimmie Fadden, singer/keyboardist Bob Carpenter and banjo player John McEuen — proves it still has musical chops and eclectic style to spare on the new record.
The album opens with the folksy-blues of “Tulsa Sounds Like Trouble to Me,” about a rambler who always finds romantic complications in the Oklahoma hills. The quartet stays in the old-timey vein with “Tryin’ to Try,” about a beleaguered would-be suitor, and “Earthquake,” a top-tapper that showcases McEuen’s banjo.
But the band also crafts music that is undeniably modern with tracks like “Brand New Heartache” and “The Resurrection,” though these songs bear little resemblance to anything currently heard on country radio.
The group’s delicate country-rock sensibilities, which have been so influential on group’s like the Eagles, are emphasized on the title track and the ballad “Amazing Love.” The cautionary tale “Somethin’ Dangerous” and instrumental “Lost in the Pines” tap into a spooky vibe. And the band gets playful on covers of Canned Heat’s “Going up the Country” and Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle.”
McEuen will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Lions Park, 201 W Daws in Norman. The free show will be the final in the 2009 Summer Breeze Concert series, produced by the Performing Arts Studio. For more information, go to www.thepas.org.
- BAM
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment