I'm leery of albums that open with harmonica. There was something in the drone of that open guitar string, slightly out of tune as open droning strings tend to be, combined with a gentle rhythm had already delivered my past my preconceptions of your average harp player. Then once the voice hit me I know I was in for something special.
So here I go, with no prior background experience and a mind that's been forced open before I could slam it just, a listen to Ryan Bingham's Junky Star.
Sadly the second song opened with harmonica too. It also had a Tom Cochrane feel that sort of caused me to glaze over a bit. When the other players stepped up I was shaken awake a bit and left wondering why you wouldn't use them more and put the harp away....
The voice though, continued to keep me interested and things got a little smashier with "Strange Feelin' In The Air". Then they slow right down for the title track.
I think what I may be missing so far is the quality of songwriter this guys is. You can hear the influence of some of the greats, 'Closing Time' era Tom Waits for sure.... but I've been too focused on the intruments, slowing down the critical mind and listening with my eyes closed, not 'taking notes', has changed what I heard... a lot.
The album paints a picture of life on the streets, friends and futures lost to drugs and random violence as well as more cliche' love stories and such. Depression, not only being the title of one of the tunes, is the main theme. Once you let it get under your skin it's sort of impressive that the guy can bother to draw the breath he needs to blow that harp. The saddest Dylan song never made me wonder how he could manage to blow.... Though some songs off the first 3 "Bootleg Series" discs are mighty dark and the feeling isn't that different.
"Direction on the Wind" turns the album in a different direction for a while.... continuing the Dylan-esque feel... but pushing it more towards the 'electric' Dylan era. Even the title of the tune is a little blatant perhaps.
It's a heavy album, one you'll really want to listen to, not something that you'll put in shuffle with a few other CDs, or on your iPod as the case may be. I like that, these reviews are about albums for the most part and this is a good cohesive thought and feeling that you wouldn't want to interrupt. You could sit in a comfy chair with a scotch in your hand and listen to this album over and over if you let it take you away.... You'd need to hug a loved on afterward and lock up the sharp knives though.
Sometimes you want music for a mood or mindset and if you're looking for some company for your misery... check this one out.
Thanks for reading and happy listening
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