2021 – Broken String
Records
Music Maker Relief
Foundation
by Phillip Smith
Showing posts with label Kennard Farmer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kennard Farmer. Show all posts
Saturday, March 20, 2021
#491 : Robert Allen Parker - The River's Invitation
Surfing atop a furious beat, “The
Sound of Revolution” epically washes ashore on a wave of prog-rock spiked with a
string section and hints of R.E.M.. Parker then takes us to church in the
Mississippi delta for a swampy delivery of gospel standard “Jesus is on the Main
Line”. With vocals drenched in blues, he
gives a breathtaking slide guitar performance.
“Indian Dream / 1 Way 2 Fly” is a most interesting display of musical duality
as the selection abruptly transitions from a soft Indian-inspired instrumental
into an explosion of power-punk-pop. Complete
with crunchy guitar, catchy hook, and a smoking bridge, it definitely rocks. “More Than Love” is a brilliant nod to the legendary
Stax catalog, boasting a funky groove, soulful vocals, and blasts of
brass. And I adore his cover of Al
Green’s “I’m a Ram”. It’s loaded to
the brim in a groovy and funky stink. Parker
pays homage to the great Duane Allman on “Skydog”. I love the Allman Brothers vibe
he injects into it as he pours out this flawless performance. The River’s Invitation comes to a
magnificent end of its twenty-four track journey with a fistful of funk, Hendrix-y
psych-blues guitar, and full-bodied organ with “And the Song Goes on Forever”. It’s quite the amazing listen.
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About "I'm a Ram"
Since reading Robert
Gorden’s book It Came From Memphis and listening to the companion soundtracks,
I’ve become obsessed with the song “I’m A Ram”.
Although originally recorded by Al Green, the version
appearing on the soundtrack was performed by Memphis band Big Ass Truck.
After going through a rabbit hole of
sorts, I had even created a Spotify playlist consisting of every version
of “I’m a Ram” I could find. Within a
week, I received a CD for review from a blues-rock band called Head Honchos,
which also contained a cover of the
song. I took that a sign to take a
closer look at that album. It ended up
being one of my favorite albums I had heard so far this year.
When I noticed the song was listed
on the track-list to this album, I took it as another sign, I was hooked on this album from the
beginning. I’ll be keeping an eye out
for Robert’s version of the song to show up on Spotify. When it does, it will definitely be added to the
playlist.
Link to the PhillyCheeze playlist
- I’m a Ram
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