![]() In the bonus track (Robert Johnson's "Hellhound On My Trail"), Whitley's parting voice, resonant yet scarred by time, indicates he kept on moving and was defiant to the bitter end, and Jeff Lang joins in and promises to keep the blues fallin' down like hail.Ĭhad Cromwell's pounding drums and Glenn Worf's throbbing bass lay the foundation and set the stage for Miranda Lambert's explosive music that has country, pop, rock and even a few bluegrass sensibilities. Lang's pathos in "Ravenswood" could very well carry a subconscious message in tribute to his friend Chris Whitley - "I knelt before him now, his song is sung, now his song is sung, we're just another town, no point slowing down." Lyrics for the originals are included in the CD jacket. "Dislocation Blues" fulfilled their passion and dreams for an intuitive and playful collaboration of two "road dogs" out to get their groove on. However, his haunting vocal interpretations are full of unique fiber and flair. In these albums produced during the last year of his life, he was singing with shortened breath and abbreviated lyrical phrasing. Two months after recording "Dislocation Blues," Whitley was back in the studio recording "Reiter In" with The Bastard Club. In a foreboding fashion, Chris rushes his reference to "death" in the last verse. The latter is an opaque, cynical and dark-sounding 7-minute song that has both Chris and Jeff singing verses until the last one that they sing in unison. ![]() Two other covers, Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece" and "Changing of the Guard" are arranged and sung with more emotion, meaning and personal attachment. If there's a song that doesn't quite seem to work, it's their cover of Prince's "Forever in my Life," that sounds undone and treads a line between too mellow and sleepy. "Rocket House" expresses blues sentiments of being disjointed, trapped, and being unable to turn back - "From counterpane to stratosphere all conclusions fade to black, is there freedom from the hemisphere? Where there is no, no turning back." His message could be a reference to world in turmoil, where confusion and forces beyond our control direct our lives. From Lang's pen, "Twelve Thousand Miles" is an odd but also reflective and thought-provoking love song inspired by a sweet girl's smile. Some like Whitley's title cut uses a recurring Turkish chumbush riff (played by Jeff) in a slightly unorthodox approach that continually asks "where can the heretic call home?" It's both poetic and prophetic. Plenty of originals will enthuse acoustic blues fans. ![]() "Underground" incorporates punk-folk elements of the Poques and Ramones.ĭelivering a spare set of raw bluesy tunes, the duo opens with a supple remake of the traditional "Stagger Lee" as a nod to their roots. Nine of the twelve tracks are a little more raucous with a solid rhythm section with Grant Cummerford's bass and Ashley Davies' drums. Their instrumental flavorings are rawboned with songs featuring National guitars, acoustic or electric guitar, lap steel, and fretless banjo. Whitley's swagger coupled with Lang's reedy tenor combine for a sensitive and inspired set. When Chris returned in April 2005, this album was born in Melbourne. Copies of the CD can be purchased from the website at Pete FyfeĬHRIS WHITLEY & JEFF LANG - Dislocation BluesĬhris Whitley is no longer with us, and before his untimely passing from lung cancer in November 2005 he suggested that the title of this album be "Road Dog Shall Inherit the Earth." Chris and Jeff met in 1993 when Chris first toured Australia. Bully Wee are possibly also the only band to get away with making the Abba melody ‘Arrival’ sound so traditional - more so than Mike Oldfield’s treatment of it anyway! Although this may be in some ways a nostalgic trip down memory lane let’s not forget that there are some seriously good performances here far outstripping a lot of younger bands currently doing the rounds. I’d forgotten some of the numbers such as ‘Love Will You Marry Me’ performed by Jim Yardley whilst the beautifully rounded tones of Colin Reece on his own compositions ‘Lady Lovibond’ and “The Wedding At Stanton Drew” make you wish the band were a more permanent fixture on the circuit today. Ian Cutler’s dramatic fiddle playing provides crisp instrumentals, there’s some great singing and damn good crack. And there we have it ladies and gentlemen the old magic is still there. The music sounds as fresh as it did then and there are a few new additions to the repertoire including ‘The Last Letter Home’ an anti-war song which, as Fergus Feely rightly points out “…it’s pretty difficult to find a pro-war song…”. It certainly doesn’t seem so on the strength of this recording taken from a direct link straight to laptop computer from several concerts in 2006 - now how cool is that? Is it really twenty years ago that Bully Wee disappeared from the folk circuit?
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