Customer Reviews

26 Days on the Road

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This quartet of road-warriors has put quite a few miles on their collective tires. Bill Kirchen, initially a member of Commander Cody's Lost Planet Airmen, has become renowned as the prime purveyor of Dieselbilly -- a combination of roots rock and country, hauled on the road with a trucker's perspective. Redd Volkaert has a day job as one of Merle Haggard's Strangers, and moonlights as a hotshot Telecaster player. Dallas Wayne is a Missouri native whose honky-tonk is simply too country for a radio market that only pays lip service to Haggard and George Jones. Joe Goldmark is a steel player who, in addition to classic country sides, has taken on everything from African Highlife to The Beatles.

With so many singer/guitarists in the band (rhythm support comes from Kirchen's regular road partners, bassist Johnny Castle and drummer Jack O'Dell), the club stage provides enough room for each to stretch out. Instrumentals like Goldmark's "Wacky Walk" and Volkaert's "Telewacker," along with extended rave-ups of "I Got a Rocket in My Pocket" and Kirchen's trademark "Hot Rod Lincoln" give the band a chance to trade off lead guitars and vocals. The latter, cutting a not-too-shabby ET of 9'22", provides an encyclopedic tour through the riffs of Johnny Cash, Duane Eddy, Roy Orbison, Johnny Rivers, Marty Robbins, Buck Owens, Merle Travis, Merle Haggard, Bob Wills, Maybelle Carter, Flatt & Scruggs, The Ventures, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Speedy West, Leon McAuliffe, James Jamerson, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Jaco Pastorius, Link Wray, Alvino Rey, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Freddie King, B.B. King, Albert King, Ben E. King, Pee Wee King, Scotty Moore, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, Keith Richards, The Beatles, The Monkees, Sex Pistols, and Jimi Hendrix!

Each player takes a spin in the spotlight, reprising songs from their individual catalogs. Though each has a distinct style, their songs blend beautifully as a band, with Johnny & Jack's rhythm work providing the continuity that holds it all together. The selections from other's pens, including Terry Fell's "Truck Drivin' Man," Blackie Farrell's "Rockabilly Funeral," Johnny Paycheck's "In Memory of a Memory" and Willie Nelson's "I Gotta Drunk" show off the band's heritage and collective ears for great songs.

There's no doubt that the Springfield, MO crowd at this show had a great night of dancing and drinking, but the home listener shouldn't feel cheated: recordist and mixer Lew Whitney caught most of the energy (if not the drinks) on tape. The resulting CD presents one fine night of electric roots music.

The song, Hot Rod Lincoln, alone is worth the price of the CD. That guy is a master at the guitar, and listening to him play just about every genre of music is amazing.
However, the rest of the CD is not so amazing. There are a couple of songs I like, but mostly they are just OK.

This disk really helped me develop a love for honky tonk music. Both Redd and Dallas have taken a permanent position in my musical collection. If you don't like this disk you are too set in your ways, because these guys are among the best at what they do.

And by the way, this is a really fun disk as well. Just a great attitude throughout.