A killer album is a killer album no matter when and where it was recorded or who wrote the material recorded for it. Girls Guns & Glory latest CD is a live recording of a tribute show to Hank Williams, titled, simply enough, A Tribute To Hank Williams Live!
Recorded by the up and coming Boston band at a New Year’s Eve performance at The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 31, 2013 through to New Years Day, January 1, 2014, the disc has been earning the boys a lot of rave reviews. It should. It’s a killer album.
Opening with “Jambalaya(On The Bayou),” Girls Guns & Glory make clear that their country roots were hard won. They didn’t just learn to play this kind of music this well overnight. Vocalist Ward Hayden has a steadfast voice as earnest and pure sounding as anything ever recorded south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Guitarist Chris Hersch picks crisp, chirpy notes on his electric that crackle with energy and homey personality. Paul Dilley’s upright bass has a plucky quality that, along with drummer Josh Kiggan’s pushy, shuffling beat, nudges the song politely forward. Folks can drink, fight, party, or dance a two step jig to this “Jambalaya.”
It certainly didn’t hurt that Girls Guns & Glory tapped fiddler Jason Anick to accompany them on this journey into the deep south. Anick’s jumpy, bumpy, sprightly, shiny fiddle work flavors each of these numbers with something extra special and sweet, like the candy on a candy apple. This fiddler, using a variety of techniques, creates an air of authenticity to each track.
“Moanin’ The Blues” is an uptempo number with a country heart and a rock and roll beat. Hayden chirps this one with an especially country sounding timbre. He practically moans out the song’s pain during the chorus and for the rest of the song he enunciates each syllable with a down home tenderness. The rhythm section makes this one swing with a drive to beat the devil. Over their well paced groove, Hersch slaps out some tasty, folksy chords and picks out a whistling clean melodic line filled with quickly played ridges. Anick gets into the rollicking action with some lightning quick bow work.
Hank Williams’ most accessible, recognized, and recorded hit song “Hey Good Lookin” gets a respectful treatment here. Hayden really does sound like he’s coming on to a purty lil filly in his hometown, and he nails each verse with his irresistibly fine timbre. Hersch’s guitar and Anick’s fiddle perk up with gritty, flinty melodic lines that coat this song with reverence while making it a fun ditty to sing along to.
“Move It On Over,” which has been a popular radio staple for every generation since its initial recording, gets a special treatment here. Aside from Girls Guns & Glory along with Anick the fiddler, guest singer Celia Woodsmith takes over the microphone to belt out the glorious vocal melody line in turn with Hayden. Hayden chirps his verses pleasantly, rising up smoothly over hillocks of country groove. Woodsmith sings it with a large voice and a large personality, making one feel she lassos this song and makes it hers. Everyone on stage the night this was recorded certainly breathed new life into this number.
One of the saddest songs ever recorded, “So Lonesome I Could Cry” finds Hayden crooning the forlorn lyrics with a voice that makes one picture a person with teary eyed sadness. He drawls out the vocal melody line with a chockfull of sorrow, heartache, and even dread. Mournfully beautiful melodies from electric guitar and fiddle make one appreciate all that Williams had lost when he wrote this.
“Honky Tonk Blues” is a fun, country flavored party song. Hayden chirps this one soulfully while crisp guitar and fiddle lines kick up some sparks. Hersch picks out another of his emotionally tender yet musically incisive guitar phrases before Anick fancies it up with some slipping fiddle work. “Dear John” is another in which Hersch scratches out gritty, snappy country guitar lines that skip and jump with perky life. The band has some fun switching up singers on the verses, creating a loosey goosey party vibe, informal, down to earth, taking the music seriously but not themselves all too much.
“Your Cheatin’ Heart” becomes a lovely duet between Hayden and Miss Tess on this live recording. He sings it with his soulful, tender chirp pushing out the words with steady verve. She caresses the lyrics with a warm, reverential vibe. When they join together on the chorus, they come across as earnest and pure as something you wish you could bottle and keep forever. The winsome pair are accompanied by a hearty, steady acoustic guitar thump that bumps the moping sadness along.
Hank Williams once recorded a song called “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It,” written by Clarence Williams and taught to Williams by Rufus Tim Time Bomb Payne who had been a mentor to the aspiring young musician. Girls Guns & Glory and their fiddle man play it with respect for the lilting grooved, weeping melody lined tune. Hayden maintains the emotional content of this seemingly whimsical story song that also points to an unfettered need for alcohol. Hersch’s country guitar twang rings true as Anick’s fiddle walks alongside with a jaunty bounce in its melodic step. This one is fun to follow along with because the boys inject it with so many pretty musical and vocal flourishes.
“Rockin’ Chair Money,” another popularized by Williams, sways to an amicably slow country beat while its twanging, grinding guitar and fiddle create a wide sound that embraces the emotive, smooth vocal in the middle. This one makes the listener feel loss, a sense that something cannot ever be recovered, as the instrumentation sounds forlorn, mournful. Hayden does a fantastic job rendering the sadness of someone who rocks his life away in chair while rationalizing that he’s happy because he has stocked away a lot of money.
This tribute album officially closes out with Hank Williams old time gospel number, “I Saw The Light.” Hayden sounds majestic in his large voiced tone and timbre while belting out these seemingly simply lyrics. The musicians race to keep pace with him, creating a sense of urgency, like someone driving way too fast to close in on a country mile to put out a fire. Energy, talent, and respect mark this entire album, so it’s fitting that the boys rock out with perfect timing and grand scale excitement on their close out track.
Girls Guns & Glory add a bonus track at the end, “The Old Log Train,“ a song recorded live in a studio featuring Hayden on acoustic guitar and vocals with Josh Higgins on piano. Drummer Paul Dilley and bassist Michael Calabrese round out this studio ditty quartet. The four managed to capture that old time recording, keeping a lot of quiet space around everything they’re doing.
This Girls Guns & Glory tribute to the king of country songwriters is a must have for just about any music fan. It ties together elements of country, blues, and rock and roll that formed the genesis of all modern music. Hearing these vintage songs recorded by a modern day band well schooled in this music with modern instruments and on modern equipment is a huge treat. It helps one to feel what Hank Williams fans were feeling when they were first blown away by his songs.
