Marty Nestor And The BlackJacks have released this nifty live CD in time for the holidays. Anybody who has followed Nestor’s career for the last 30 years and anybody who loves great roots rock should buy a copy of Live At The Bull Run right away. Nestor’s raw, rocking vocal, rugged rhythm guitar work, and his band’s rippling instrumentation come across better than ever in a live setting. Nestor plays the kind of rock that’s meant to be played live, and that is what he accomplished when he recorded this at the Shirley, Massachusetts venue.
Opening with his original “Sad, Sad Story Of Sammy Lee,” Nestor and his blackjacks create a highway travel feeling. Raw, raspy vocals and brisk musicianship make one feel transported, carried somewhere by the myriad of notes flying out of the amps. Carl Johnson’s rootsy lead guitar phrase is sharply spiked in the right places and it too travels to a special place.
Nestor’s story of a childhood bully, “JimmyJohnJohnny,” probably carries a lot of weight with everybody who knew a kid like this. The vocals and the guitar work is as aggressive as the lyrical material. This one comes together like a charm in the live setting, lumbering forward with the same aggressive lurch as its subject matter, making the listener feel the danger Johnny represented. A wiry guitar phrase is on fire as it twists and turns its way forward with reckless abandon.
Nestor and his boys mellow things out a little on “Little Lady Lowdown.” Nestor’s raspy timbre here wraps itself around some tender thoughts about his subject. He infuses his words with plenty of emotive force while Mr. Johnson puts a colorful melodic line around the vocal. This personal ballad has a lot of personality, and it feels like one of those classic rock songs that we’ve all known and loved for years.
“For You,” a new Nestor composition, makes the listener feel the way he did when he wrote this. It’s a moving tribute to friendship. Its sincerity rings true in Nestor’s earnest, straightforward delivery and the band’s gritty resonance.
“Down On The Street” has the same kind of Marty Nestor force of nature drive as the previous songs. This one, though, makes the listener feel its edge. A sense of urgency fills the vocal line and the lead guitar. The rhythm section, bassist Jeff Root and drummer Lloyd Iisley, is particularly punchy. They inject a lot of plucky groove, the kind that slaps a song forward.
The slow blues of “The Rain Came” provides one of the most beautiful guitar lines on this disc. Johnson ushers this one in with a stream of pretty rustic notes, a melodic phrase that just kissed the ear while soothing the soul. Nestor is raw, guttural, and this unaffected vocal approach keeps this song squarely rooted in blues idioms. Its lilting groove and guitar line give him a wide arc to hover over and he does so with a country gentleman’s aplomb.
Nestor and his men tackle The Rolling Stones early 1970s classic “Dead Flowers.” The succeed as much on the strength of their raw, unadorned roots approach as they do their talent caliber. This song cannot be played and sung too prettily. It needs to be real, raw, gritty, and earthy. These boys have no problem delivering the goods with a sound that takes country, blues, and old time rock and roll and mixes them up in an untamed garden of sound.
After an introducing his band mates to his audience, Nestor leads the band into his original “Tell Me What You Want,” a tune with a melodic line that seems to call out to the listener from another place and time. Johnson’s greasy slide guitar work offers colorful lines while Nestor makes his point with a gritty, heartfelt vocal. His chirpy, bluesy vocal makes this one come to life with a vibrant personality. One can picture the frustration that he is singing about, and it’s a hoot.
Nestor’s personal ballad and title track of his last studio album, “Saint Of The Highway,” unfurls in beautiful motions on this live album. It’s a wide, expansive song, and it moves in a well paced motion to take you where Nestor would like you to arrive at. His vocal is as tender and honest as the reflective lyrics require. Johnson’s guitar line unfurls his melodic line like a huge flag, a sound as large and rangy as an anthem. Every note rings true with clarity, purpose, and beauty.
Nestor and his gang of cohorts close out this live disc with Junior Parker’s “Mystery Train.” Its familiar two step shuffling beat is as reassuring as an old friend putting his arm around your shoulders. Iisley keeps it steady as Root pumps out the classic low end line in support of Johnson’s flinty, country melody. Nestor sings this like he’s born to roots rock. He’s got a credible chirp in his vocal timbre and he sings this like he means it.
Nestor accomplishes a lot with this Live At The Bull Run album by just being himself. He’s taken the songs he’s been recording and releasing on CDs for the last several years and presents them in their best possible form, live, raw, and real.
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