| CD REVIEW Bill Kirchen |
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Band : Bill Kirchen Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan (where he attended high school with Iggy Pop and Bob Seger) in 1948, Bill Kirchen is an American singer, songwriter and Rockabilly guitarist. He was the guitarist with the original Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen from 1967 to the mid ‘70s, and obviously that only accounts for a portion of his career as a musician. Known as “The Titan Of The Telecaster” for his big twangy licks and diverse musical styles, his work is rich and varied, recording several albums under his own name but also contributing to many other artists’ albums. In recent years, he’s recorded and toured with Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Doug Sahm, Emmylou Harris, Austin de Lone and others. Although he’s ready to adapt to any other artist’s type of music he’s working with, Kirchen also developed a style of his own which was named “Dieselbilly” because it incorporates elements of Country music, Blues, Rockabilly, Western Swing, and Boogie-Woogie, and often has lyrics with themes of American truck music (a style which he developed to the fullest during his tenure with the Commander crew). Besides being known for his “Dieselbilly” style, Kirchen is also known for his whistling skills and trombone playing. As suggested by his surname, he plays the Fender Telecaster almost exclusively, his most importantly used a 1959 model which he got in 1967 by swapping it with a stranger on a bus for his own Gibson SG. Following a quiet period in his live, musically speaking (time during which he moved from Washington, where he’d resided for the past 20 years, to the West Coast to take care of family…then to Texas, and eventually back to the Washington area – currently he lives in Southern Maryland) he released his first album in a number of years (his previous one was of 2002) in January 2007 (Hammer Of The Honky Tonk Gods, on Proper Records), featuring a mix of Kirchen’s styles, and sprouting such prominent guests as Nick Lowe, Chris Gafney, and Dave Gonzalez. Word To The Wise is really simply an extention of that, with Kirchen goin’ through several Rock stylings and having such guests as Paul Carrack & Nick Lowe (vocals on the moving ballad “Shelly’s Winter Love”), Elvis Costello (vocals on “Man In The Bottom Of The Well”), Commander Cody (piano on the cheaky “I Don’t Work That Cheap”), Chris O’Connell (male/ female duet on “Husbands And Wives”), Kevin “Blackie” Farrell (acoustic guitar & vocals on “Open Range”), Dan Hicks (acoustic guitar & vocals on “Word To The Wise”), Maria Muldaur (male/ female duet on “Ain’t Got Time For The Blues”) and Norton Buffalo (guest harmonica on “Valley Of The Moon”). In the booklet, there’s linere notes about each of the guests, by the way. With his band consisting of drummer/ backing singer Jack O’Dell, bassist Johnny Castle, and piano/ electric piano/ organ/ acoustic guitar player & backing singer Austin de Lone (well, actually he was also a guest, but he made contributions to several songs indeed), there was still space for additional participations, including Peter Bonta (mandolin & accordion), Paul Riley (bass & backing vocals) and backing singers Lisa Best, Louise Kirchen, and Bucky Lindsay. In other words, quite a friendly gathering! And quite a nice album too, if you’re into this type of music! I hope it’s not just because I’m a bit older (48 and counting), that I’ve enjoyed this album the way I did…and I’m sure many a younger music fan (the type with open minds) will be able to find some good listening moments here as well. To find out whether you like or not, there’s a couple of tracks on myspace.com/billkirchen. Nothing off the new album though. There’s more at Last.fm (you need to be logged in, but it’s free and only takes a couple of seconds to get done), but again nót off the new album. Still, if you like what you hear from the older albums, you’re probably gone like the new stuff as well! 83/100 Tony. |