BRENT BEST - YOUR DOG CHAMP
2015 - Last Chance Records
Slobberbone (named after a can of dog food!) were/are one of the top half dozen alt. country bands from the mid 1990s onwards, as were their offshoot band, the Drams, which contained three of the original Slobberbone members, of which Brent Best was lead singer and songwriter. As is the case with so many bands that I write about, they never received the accolades their talents should have entitled them to despite the consistently high quality of their five albums (plus one by the Drams).
This is Brent Best's debut 'solo' album and could actually redress that 'accolade' balance with his excellent, raw yet melodic, expressive vocal style, his excellent, often dark songs and the classic alt. country feel that edges perhaps a little closer to full on 'country' than previous albums. Whilst it is not a concept album there is a thread that joins the songs, mainly the dark side of life, sometimes creating a realism, at others an unfathomably deep darkness, but the album always has a powerful musicality with its country instrumentation, tremendous arrangements, Brent's excellent vocal performances and some memorable melodies all composed by this master storyteller. Many of the songs relate to family situations, although very few that will create much familial envy on these tales that are metaphor light but heavy on often harrowing real life believability.
The eleven songs on this tremendous album were written over a period of many years before Brent eventually got the chance to record them for this album that can be described as 'pulling no punches,' a cliché I know but certainly not inaccurate or exaggerated in the case of this disc. He was helped out by some hugely talented musicians and yet the album still has a sparse sound that allows the vocal depictions to have a heavy impact on the listener. Those musicians included Grady Don Sandlin on drums, Ralph White, fiddle and kalimba, Drew Phelps on bass guitar, Burton Lee, pedal steel, Petra Kelly played violins; Scott Danbom on piano and melodica, with Andy Rogers playing banjo and Claude Bernand of The Gourds on accordion. A hugely talented and varied group but one that never tried to dominate the sound, always playing just what was required.
It is a strange, if brilliant album, on which some of the songs, whether musically or lyrically, start out as one thing making the listener believe they have the direction pegged and then in a suble way change the emphasis, in reality echoing life. We all hope that we won't be subjected to any of the deep darkness that oozes from within these often extraordinary tales, but know that nearly all of us will be in some shape or form. The album opens with the quite emphatic Daddy Was A Liar, a song that starts at a sparky mid tempo with piano, bass and harmonica on a tale of a perhaps justifiably hated father with an excellent raw vocal from Brent on an incredibly harrowing tale. This is followed by another tale of hate in Good Man Now,a powerful tale of a manipulative mother on a song that has an unusual arrangement with its keening fiddle and wash of steel guitar, but perhaps there is redemption for the subject of all the hate, or is there? Aunt Ramona is an almost epic tale of a car journey with Aunt Ramona to see her sister. It doesn't seem very exciting when you put it that way but there is a cinematic quality to the arrangement, with a melody that works its way into the consciousness on a terrific and hugely atmospheric character study that has a strong, often spooky melody with an unusual arrangement on a story that ultimately has a sad end. The haunting and quite stunning tale Robert Cole is propelled by a lovely violin allied to the piano on a tremendous ballad of epic proportions that at least at first starts as a snapshot of a contented family life but soon descends into hardship and sadness on a stunningly beautiful ballad that is quite harrowingly sad. Brent's vocal and the atmosphere he conjures up make it a song that will live long in the memory of anyone who hears it. An acoustic guitar and incredibly spooky violin gets Tangled underway before crashing guitars add to the darkness and that is before a note has been sung. Brent's vocal is at its most raw and atmospheric on a song that has a harrowing deep darkness both lyrically and musically that few if any can match and certainly no one will surpass. Clotine gets off to a gentle start with the acoustic guitar and steel bringing a slow moody beauty to a tale of someone who knows the object of his desires is not really one he should pursue but he can't seem to help himself. The beauty of the steel guitar combined with the violin creates a strange otherworldly atmosphere when put against the lyrical content that enhances the songs impact.
After numerous listening sessions this incredible recording still has an impact that rather than diminishing in any way actually increases in power. Despite knowing what is coming next the story lines are so strong and the atmosphere created by Brent and his co musicians, so great that I'm sure, if still around (unlikely) I will be still listening to this recording in forty years time in much the same way as I am, 'John Prine,' just about my all time favourite album! In a final summing I would say that If you like your country music of the 'easy listening' variety don't go near this deep dark album, unless of course you are prepared to give up on 'wallpaper music' and give in to 'real country music!' This extraordinary album certainly qualifies as that and whilst it is not 'easy listening' it is a great album that is easy to listen to, in fact I have no doubt this will soon be talked about as one of the best albums of this decade. It really is that good!
http://slobberbone.com/
http://brentbest.com/
Slobberbone (named after a can of dog food!) were/are one of the top half dozen alt. country bands from the mid 1990s onwards, as were their offshoot band, the Drams, which contained three of the original Slobberbone members, of which Brent Best was lead singer and songwriter. As is the case with so many bands that I write about, they never received the accolades their talents should have entitled them to despite the consistently high quality of their five albums (plus one by the Drams).
This is Brent Best's debut 'solo' album and could actually redress that 'accolade' balance with his excellent, raw yet melodic, expressive vocal style, his excellent, often dark songs and the classic alt. country feel that edges perhaps a little closer to full on 'country' than previous albums. Whilst it is not a concept album there is a thread that joins the songs, mainly the dark side of life, sometimes creating a realism, at others an unfathomably deep darkness, but the album always has a powerful musicality with its country instrumentation, tremendous arrangements, Brent's excellent vocal performances and some memorable melodies all composed by this master storyteller. Many of the songs relate to family situations, although very few that will create much familial envy on these tales that are metaphor light but heavy on often harrowing real life believability.
The eleven songs on this tremendous album were written over a period of many years before Brent eventually got the chance to record them for this album that can be described as 'pulling no punches,' a cliché I know but certainly not inaccurate or exaggerated in the case of this disc. He was helped out by some hugely talented musicians and yet the album still has a sparse sound that allows the vocal depictions to have a heavy impact on the listener. Those musicians included Grady Don Sandlin on drums, Ralph White, fiddle and kalimba, Drew Phelps on bass guitar, Burton Lee, pedal steel, Petra Kelly played violins; Scott Danbom on piano and melodica, with Andy Rogers playing banjo and Claude Bernand of The Gourds on accordion. A hugely talented and varied group but one that never tried to dominate the sound, always playing just what was required.
It is a strange, if brilliant album, on which some of the songs, whether musically or lyrically, start out as one thing making the listener believe they have the direction pegged and then in a suble way change the emphasis, in reality echoing life. We all hope that we won't be subjected to any of the deep darkness that oozes from within these often extraordinary tales, but know that nearly all of us will be in some shape or form. The album opens with the quite emphatic Daddy Was A Liar, a song that starts at a sparky mid tempo with piano, bass and harmonica on a tale of a perhaps justifiably hated father with an excellent raw vocal from Brent on an incredibly harrowing tale. This is followed by another tale of hate in Good Man Now,a powerful tale of a manipulative mother on a song that has an unusual arrangement with its keening fiddle and wash of steel guitar, but perhaps there is redemption for the subject of all the hate, or is there? Aunt Ramona is an almost epic tale of a car journey with Aunt Ramona to see her sister. It doesn't seem very exciting when you put it that way but there is a cinematic quality to the arrangement, with a melody that works its way into the consciousness on a terrific and hugely atmospheric character study that has a strong, often spooky melody with an unusual arrangement on a story that ultimately has a sad end. The haunting and quite stunning tale Robert Cole is propelled by a lovely violin allied to the piano on a tremendous ballad of epic proportions that at least at first starts as a snapshot of a contented family life but soon descends into hardship and sadness on a stunningly beautiful ballad that is quite harrowingly sad. Brent's vocal and the atmosphere he conjures up make it a song that will live long in the memory of anyone who hears it. An acoustic guitar and incredibly spooky violin gets Tangled underway before crashing guitars add to the darkness and that is before a note has been sung. Brent's vocal is at its most raw and atmospheric on a song that has a harrowing deep darkness both lyrically and musically that few if any can match and certainly no one will surpass. Clotine gets off to a gentle start with the acoustic guitar and steel bringing a slow moody beauty to a tale of someone who knows the object of his desires is not really one he should pursue but he can't seem to help himself. The beauty of the steel guitar combined with the violin creates a strange otherworldly atmosphere when put against the lyrical content that enhances the songs impact.
After numerous listening sessions this incredible recording still has an impact that rather than diminishing in any way actually increases in power. Despite knowing what is coming next the story lines are so strong and the atmosphere created by Brent and his co musicians, so great that I'm sure, if still around (unlikely) I will be still listening to this recording in forty years time in much the same way as I am, 'John Prine,' just about my all time favourite album! In a final summing I would say that If you like your country music of the 'easy listening' variety don't go near this deep dark album, unless of course you are prepared to give up on 'wallpaper music' and give in to 'real country music!' This extraordinary album certainly qualifies as that and whilst it is not 'easy listening' it is a great album that is easy to listen to, in fact I have no doubt this will soon be talked about as one of the best albums of this decade. It really is that good!
http://slobberbone.com/
http://brentbest.com/