Acoustic or plugged in, folkies show they can rock and swing…
Recorded at the Waterloo Ice House in Austin, Texas back in 1982 as a private pressing, this 21 song collection has the trio of Walter Hyatt, Champ Hood and David Ball capturing the mood of early 60s swing a la The Kingston Trio with a dash of bluegrass. The vocal harmonies reveal a debt to The Everly Brothers, with the lighthearted delivery working well on pieces like “Mock, Mock, Mockingbird” and even the upbeat “Country Boy”. They take the R&B classic “Stagger Lee” and turn it into a campfire ditty, while humor abounds on pieces like “Diggaroo”. Lamplighters delight.
Harry Dean Stanton is known for acting roles in things ranging from the TV show Gunsmoke to films like Pretty in Pink and The Godfather Part II. This album finds him in a musical role, possibly playing a Flying Burrito Brother in a country rock band with studio stud Jeff “Skunk” Baxter/psg, Slim Jim Phanton/dr, Tony Sles/b and Jamie James/g while he sings and plays guitar and harmonica in a mix of studio and recordings from a 1993 gig at the famous LA club The Troubador.
The material ranges from Chuck Berry styled rockers like “Promised Land” and “Never Can Tell” to country rock as on Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” with Stanton playing a mean harp here and also on “Across The Borderline”. A dash of R&B gets the crowd jumping on “Bright Lights, Big City” while some gorgeous acoustic work creates a rich mood on “Spanish Harlem.” So, he wants to be a rock and roll star?