David Jacobs-Strain, Stuck On the Way Back (Northern Blues, 2002)
Mark Graham and Orville Johnson (The Kings Of Mongrel Folk), Still Goin' Strong
(self-produced, 2002)
Here are a couple albums from the place the Cascadian Separatists call "Cascadia." Coincidently, both Jacobs-Strain and Johnson have taught at the Port Townsend Country Blues Workshop. But the recordings are not two peas in a pod.
From Eugene, Oregon, David Jacobs-Strain has been playing slide et al guitar since he was nine. At 18, his hands are still those of a big puppy (parents know what I mean by this!). Stuck On the Way Back is his fourth album, his first on an actual label.
Jacobs-Strain is a railroad train, a diesel powerhouse of raw energy, technical skill, speed, and soul. Unlike his last self-released album, Longest Road I Know (2001), reviewed on my home page, on Stuck On the Way Back he is at times accompanied by other musicians. For instance, kora unexpectedly reveals the African origins in RL Burnside's "Poor Black Mattie." But, most of the songs are originals and sometimes the lyrics are from Jacobs-Strain's own inherited world. For instance in "Dark Horse Blues," with driving guitar, he writes about US involvement in Venezuela: "Well those stars and stripes sometimes they look like a ball and chain. / We want to kill that white tiger and snort cocaine." Or on "River Was Green," where he becomes a waterfall of energy: "When that river was green, it tasted like cherry wine. / You know it done been spoiled, now it tastes like turpentine." That's why Oregonians visit Alaska so much, to go "...north, to drink water from the ground."
Jacobs-Strain, who plays by ear, is best when he's speeding down the track, such as in Otis Taylor's "Bowlegged Charlie," a story that races from a Texas ranch to a sleezy New York City murder. Or "Linin' Track," a traditional song. Although the lyrics are mostly repeats like "Thing I hate about Linin' Track," it's a really great arrangement with National Resophonic Guitar and vocal megaphone effects. Other songs simmer, like the traditional, "Wild Bill Jones." Let's hope Jacobs-Strain never has to lead the life he sings about.
The Seattle boys on Still Goin' Strong are older and much more laid back than Jacobs-Strain. Mark Graham is known for his singing and harmonica/clarinet playing with Kevin Burke's Open House, and as well he's put out several solo albums with cute lyrics. Orville Johnson is know as a roots dobro player and slide guitarist, as well as being a sideman, with a couple CDs on his own. This mongrel folk duo blends blues, bluegrass (Tim O'Brien plays fiddle on the title track), country, and some other stuff. It's also a mix of music played for its own sake, made up of covers and some smart Mark Graham compositions.
My favorites here include a "cover" of "Shadrach," one of my favorite gospel tunes from the Art Linkletter show. Graham's low pitched voice is great, and the harmonies are as smooth as the walls of the fiery furnace the king put the kids into. The other standout is a Graham composition called "High and Lonesome." This is about a country DJ who dies and becomes a spirit:
"One night with some pals over Denver
We were singing and raising some Cain
When a gal in a trance down in Boulder
Made a call to the spiritual plane..."
Apparently she never called back! Following this tune is a very witty "Tennessee Robot"...set to the tune of "Tennessee Stud."
Orville Johnson is a joy to hear on his steel guitar. He is particularly fine on "Dead of Night" and "After the Fall" and "Come Back Baby," three in a row, right there. Mark Graham hots it up with harmonica and clarinet on a number of tracks. The musicianship is wonderful, nothing wrong with the vocals. It seems to me though, however pleasant and subtly witty some of the tracks are, much of the album is reminscent of a Saturday evening in Humptulips with a 12 pack of Rainier waiting for a tree to fall down somewhere. Maybe that's the point, as a bonus track at the end features live roots music and someone pouring a Rainier.
Visit Mongrolia here.
