Review from Penny Black Magazine UK
There is a certain music magazine that asks a handful
of artists each month a number of questions. One of
these is always .Name your favourite Saturday night
record.. As they are never likely to ask me I.ll put
mine forward here. It would have to be .The Ghost Of
Bonnie Parker.. Of the eleven tracks there is not one
that would not put me in a good frame of mind for a
lively night out. In fact, I.ve played this energetic
mix of punk rock and traditional country whenever I.ve
needed a kick on the butt, and it.s never failed to
raise my spirits and lift the gloom. It.s all been
done before, of course, but never quite as well as
this trio does it nor with the same enthusiasm.
Maybe it is in the way they use pedal steel guitar and
fiddle which make it stand head and shoulders above
the rest or maybe it.s their neat way of telling
stories, like in the old country songs and best
exemplified here by the track .Jessica.. The guy in
this song has lost his job, his girl, is in debt, on
the bottle and friendless, but still the song gets the
feet tapping despite the hopelessness in the vocals.
And that is what makes this album so good, taking the
more depressing moments in life, and instead of making
the listener reach for the nearest knife or bottle
actually makes them forget their troubles and their
feet move and their bodies feel alive again. Titles
like .Nervous Wreck., .Cheatin. Side Of Town. and
.Ex-Girlfriend.s Wedding (with some outstanding pedal
from guest Todd Pertll) speak volumes about the songs
here.
At some point (believe it or not if you.re under 25, I
felt the same way) country music is going to start to
sound more appealing as the years go by. Slick 57
produce a take on country music that it is okay to
like no matter what age you are. If country music
means men singing in Stetsons to you right now and
sounds like your worst nightmare then give Slick 57 a
listen, you.d be very surprised what gets tagged
country these days..
