01.24.2008
Spins: Steve Poltz, The Steeldrivers
Steve Poltz
Traveling
Label: 98 Pounder Records.
If like: Todd Snider, Tommy Womack
Song to download: “Nickel”
3 stars (out of four)
A novice can understand singer-songwriter Steve Poltz from the people with whom he has written songs - Jewel (the massive hit “You Were Meant For Me"), Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze and lovable nutcase Mojo Nixon. He is, in a word - diverse.
His new solo album, Traveling, is impressive; not just for its wide and wry perspective ("What Would Ghandi Do?"), but for how emotionally potent Poltz can be when untangling the pretzel logic of the human condition. “Nickel,” hushed and smart, takes the darkest parts of emotional upheaval and casts them in beautiful shadows. Then “Street Fighter’s Face” wraps a provocative and compassionate look at the horrific life of an American troop in Iraq in a hooky, rockin’ arrangement that somehow conveys determination.
Traveling is the sound of a multifaceted songwriter at the top of his game - and fans of his more warped work need only wait for the companion disc, Unraveled, due later this year.
The Steeldrivers
The Steeldrivers
Label: Rounder
If you like: The high-lonesome honesty of Ralph Stanley performed with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s energy.
Song to download: “Midnight Train To Memphis”
3 1/2 stars
The Steeldrivers - five very accomplished singers, songwriters and musicians - are to bluegrass what Led Zeppelin was initially to blues - a group that maintains a respect for the tradition while forging ahead with a musical intensity uncommon to the genre.
There are some fetching high-lonesome moments on the The Steeldrivers - “Hear The Willow Cry” will please any purist’s ear. But what takes this debut album - and this band - into refreshingly bold new territory is the songwriting, uncluttered and strong by any standard, and the startling intensity and ferocity of the performances.
This band shows no quarter as it charges beyond the borders of bluegrass convention, mixing working-class back-country swagger with Delta soil to create music best described as rhythm ‘n’ blues-grass. Singer Chris Stapleton sings with scrappy authority that rattles windows, and the band, led by guitarist Michael Henderson, celebrates every note with a vitality that stems from seasoned professionalism. It all combines into one whale of a drive toward a new horizon that will leave listeners breathless.