The Wheel's Still In Spin: Oakley Hall

Oakleyhallillfollowyou

Release Date: 11 Sept 2007 (Merge)

Oakley Hall made my list of The Best Albums Of 2006. They mix together a cache of influences. There are rural tones, from fiddles and slides, to urban timbres, like distorted guitars and organs. Their latest album, I'll Follow You, throws the songbooks of country, rock, folk, and punk into a cauldron to make a thick, rich stew of original excellence.

No Dreams (mp3)

Charlie And The Music Factory

While most of Charlie's family seemed disconnected from his Uncle Jeff, the two had something in common. Charlie always looking forward to visiting his uncle and even went out of his way to do so. You see, the two both loved music.

Uncle Jeff grew up listening to the radio. He dreamed of being a radio DJ, spending his days listening to music, and talking about the music he loved. As it turned out, he spent his career as a computer programmer. But he spent most of his truly expendable income on music. In addition to buying the music he loved, he was also working on a collection of every song that every charted on Billboard.

During this particular visit, Charlie got into a conversation with his uncle about the genres of music.

"When I read a review or description of a band, they pigeonhole it into a specific sound. But when I read an interview with the bands I really like they always say they can't describe their music and list a wide range of influences. Why does all the music have to be defined by a specific genre?" Charlie asked.

Uncle Jeff never hesitated to speak his opinion as fact. "Because the record labels have to sell the music. They only know how to sell things that they can put in a box. So they market music by describing it as the sound the consumer is looking for. So we get these buzz words. A few years ago it was all about alt country. Now it's indie rock everywhere. But there's always going to be musicians who defy the genre specifics and keep making great music no matter what."

"Really?" Charlie asked. He knew he didn't need to say anything because Jeff had already turned to his computer screen. He was finding some music to play. But Charlie humored him. "Like who?"

"I'll play you one of my favorites from when I was your age." And through the speakers came the sounds of The Flying Burrito Brothers Band.

"This is pretty good," said Charlie. Knowing that most of Uncle Jeff's favorite musician's were dead, he added, "These guys still playing today? Where can I find them?"

"You want to find these guys? You hear that voice. That's Gram Parsons. To get in touch with him, you could go out to Joshua Tree. Find the spot where they dosed his coffin and body with gasoline and ignited the bomb fire. Run your hands through the sand. But if you really want to get in touch with the 'Cosmic American Sound,' you should try to hunt down Sneaky Pete."

"Sneaky Pete?" quizzed Charlie.

"Yeah, 'Sneaky Pete' Kleinow. He was called the Hendrix of the steel guitar. He played with Gram in The Flying Burrito Brothers Band. He played his steel guitar through distortion pedals. Great and innovative tones."

"Where is he now?"

"Oh, he's dead too. Passed away earlier this year."

"Or you could try to hunt down another great slide player. Take a trip to Macon, GA. Duane Allman had a crash on his Harley. It was a nasty accident. He lost control of his bike. He flew over the handlebars. Then the bike landed on him and slid with him across the pavement. A little over a year late, Berry Oakley, the bassist for the Allman Brothers, died in a similar motorcycle accident 3 blocks from where Duane died."

Charlie thought about interrupting his uncle, but he knew he was getting an educational lesson today.

"There was Doug Sahm, too. He mixed country, blues, and rock into the Tex-Mex sound. He was the real deal. Great song writer, virtuoso on guitar and damn near every instrument. He always used to travel. He'd be all over the place. Always said he didn't like getting bored. He'd just drive instead. But he's dead too."

Charlie sighed. All the talk of dead, great musicians was bringing him down. But he let Jeff keep talking.

"Sahm had a band called the Texas Tornados for a while. It was a supergroup of genre defying musicians. It was himself, Augie Meyes, Flaco Jimenex, and Freddy Fender. You could hunt them down and get some stories. Unfortunately, Freddy Fender passed last year."

"Why are all the great musicians dead?" Charlie finally asked.

"They're not all dead." Jeff reassured him. In reality, he was trying to stall the conversation for a minute.

"The great ones are."

"No they're not. Especially if you want to talk about musicians that have crossed genre boundaries and kept pushing their art." Here came the second part of Uncle Jeff's diatribe. "First off, Dylan's still alive. I know you've heard the story of how Dylan went electric. He was the folk troubadour who made rock and roll a mental game. When he plugged in, we all plugged in. Literally and figuratively. Try and find a copy of Eat The Document. This is a documentary, a film, of the first electric tour Dylan took to England. Most of the audience didn't want him to play electric. He would play the first set acoustic and the second set he would bring out The Band. Eat The Document is all cut up and manically edited. It does a great job of putting you in Dylan's shoes. Pushing the edge and playing music the way he wanted. Or just listen to the bootleg from 1966 from London when someone in the audience yells out, 'Judas,' and Dylan responds with, 'Play fucking loud.' Then The Band breaks in to 'Like A Rolling Stone.' I've got that album around here somewhere. You gotta borrow it.

"But there's a whole lot more. There's X and their early stuff on Slash. I've got those first albums. Let me get those. Oh, and Jason and the Scorchers. I saw Jason Ringenberg a few years ago when he was on tour. Shit, there was Uncle Tupelo. They'll never play together again, but Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar made some great music together. These were bands that each mixed country and punk in an original way. Each of them sounds different, but they're dipping from the same well. Or wells."

By now Charlie had a stack of CDs to listen to, but they kept coming. "Oh, wait." Uncle Jeff had his hands on something that made the conversation pause. He put in a new CD and said, "Charlie, here's a new band I think you'll like. This CD came out just a few days ago. It's called I'll Follow You by Oakley Hall."

From the first song, Charlie was hooked. "Marine Life" echoed with its twangy drones. Patrick Sullivan's vocals sounded rich and brimming with relaxed maturity. After the chorus which asks "Would you lie here once again/ Down in these arms once again" the full band ups the ante and fleshes out the sound with a distorted attack.

"No Dreams" features the doubled attack of harmonized locals by Sullivan and Rachel Cox. The song is held together with drumming that pushes the beat ahead by staying just behind it. There is an barrage of guitar tones with the blistering plucks of Fred Wallace's banjo-tuned guitar mixed with subtle tones sent through guitar pedals.

"Rue The Blues" kept the momentum thrusting forward with a combination of organ and guitar tones that reminiscent of Gurf Morlix's works with Lucinda Williams. Sullivan's lyrics are mercerized by the lines, "You told me you loved me, darling/ You said it like a warning."

I'll Follow You maintains the quality of songwriting and vocalizing through its 12 songs. The three part vocal intro to "Free Radicals Lament" showcases the singers' skills. The slide guitar solo on "Angela" is some of Wallace's finest playing. The fiddle playing on "Free Radicals Lament" and "Best Of Luck" highlight the melodic prowess of Claudia Mogel.

Charlie had a stopped by his Uncle Jeff's place to spend some time talking about music. He would leave with a stack of CDs to listen to. The one he was most excited to listen to was the new album by Oakley Hall.

This album defied genre specifics. Sure, the press release can describe the country roots, the mixture of rural and urban rock & roll influences, and the layers of harmonies and confidently elusive singing. But no review will capture the combinations of musical shifts that occur on this album. At times there are influences of Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Grateful Dead, The Pogues, The Eagles, and many more. The mixture of influences mesh together with driving and pulsating energy. Through it all, Oakley Hall creates a sound that is uniquely it's own. And each song sounds better with each listen.

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