Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A feel-good band with the lyrics of a realist...and a sentimentalist , June 27, 2007
"The ones who surround you are you/Doing the same things you do," sings Ed Anderson on "The Ones Who Surround You," the third cut from Backyard Tire Fire's impressive debut CD." Good lyrics, to be sure, but it's doubtful that the adoring crowd who used to watch BTF cut its musical chops at Roc's Lounge in Bloomington, Ill., were half the musicians of Anderson and his two cohorts. Nonetheless, observing your own immersion within the music scene and becoming one with your fans and peers is an astute sentiment by Anderson, and BTF seems to be well on its way to establishing a formidably down-home rock and roll presence.
The title "Bar Room Semantics" may not indicate an album full of crisp production and clear-headed lyrics, but that's exactly what this album is chock-full of. "Crisp" is also a good word to describe the guitar work on this CD, whether it's acoustically done, comes via a smooth slide or a raunchy electric solo by multi-talented vocalist and guitarist Ed Anderson. Indeed, Anderson is quite the musician: He also lends his services on the harmonica, piano, organ, tenor banjo and some percussion. All that musical diversity leads to a more varied and creative album than one might expect from this Midwestern three-piece. Anderson's voice might sound a bit wary at times due to life on the road, living on the cheap and endlessly promoting his band, but there's also a hint of hope in his lyrics, as if he knows it'll all pay off soon.
Cheerful acoustic tunes like "The Daze" and "The White on My Walls" remind me of Wilco in that band's heyday, while the chorus of "When the Truth Was Still True" sounds like vintage Black Crowes from the early 1990s. "White on My Walls" is an especially endearing ditty about living life on your own terms: "Please call my momma, please call my dad/Tell them I'm happy/And I'm not sad," Anderson sings plaintively on the song. The following line is just as telling: "We make our choices, we make our beds/We make decisions, until we're dead/It's in the now."
Elements of sad-eyed country shine through on songs like "A Better Day," "Spinnin' Around," "Tryin' to Get Paid," "Up & Down" and "To You," the album's sweetly written closer. BTF can also slow the pace up in a soulful, bluesy way, like on "The Ones Who Surround You," "31st Fall" and "If It Make You Feel Good."
Several extra musicians contribute to this CD for a truly well-rounded musical experience. A huge saxophone interlude by Cory Starr, for instance, on "If It Make You Feel Good" gives that song some real oomph in the middle. The background vibraphone, moog, drones, chimes, bells and pedal steel guitar by other musicians, not to mention the assistance of backing vocals on some songs, gives "Bar Room Semantics" a gloriously 1970s-era Rolling Stones-type vibe. "Thick Skin," in fact, has a retro-sounding, high-pitched guitar lick and solo that's reminiscent of Keith Richards' best work. Overall, there might be a lot of musical influences at work here, but the guys in BTF are a true tour de force by themselves.
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by Backyard Tire Fire 
