The Righteous Hillbillies - Two Wheels
Down a Lost Highway
A lot of music fans dismiss the blues
as a relic of America’s musical past, a carnival of clichés recalling the
distant past without any relevance to modern music. The Righteous Hillbillies
would certainly dispute that idea. The ten songs on their fourth studio album,
Two Wheels Down a Lost Highway, are ripped from modern life and surrounded with
a vital blues rock backing that’s handled with considerable skill and isn’t
ever used as a cudgel. Instead, the band understands the slightly behind the
beat and emotive value inherent to the blues without ever pandering for the
audience’s attention. Vocalist Brent James and lead guitarist Nick Normando
stand out from the pack on many of the album’s songs, but the other three band
members are equally strong in serving this material to its maximum potential.
The band’s three preceding albums make perfect sense when hearing this new
release – rather than settling for staid invocations of the musical past,
they’ve scooped up this time-tested American art form and set squarely in the
present without any hint of irony.
The feeling of inspiration on these
tracks comes with the first song. “Rollin’” highlights drummer Barret Harvey’s
crucial role in making The Righteous Hillbillies’ engine hum. His series of
rolls throughout the track shows great timing and Nick Normando and vocalist
Brent James’ guitar work spars over the top with great spark. “Throwing Stones”
brings Normando’s slide guitar playing more to the surface and the tempo gives
it a high stepping, groovy energy that never abates. Brent James’ singing
matches that tempo in both feel and inspiration without ever laying things on
too thick. “Shake This Feeling” has a great barrelhouse roll from the start and
James’ gives a leering, entertaining vocal that makes the song all the more
enjoyable. The title song stands out from the other nine as one of the album’s
most considered tracks, full of original but blues-derived imagery that shows
off James’ songwriting talents in perhaps unexpected ways. James throws himself
head long into the long slide guitar drawl of “Down to Memphis”; in the hands
of lesser bands, this would all sound like hollow posing, but The Righteous
Hillbillies nail songs like this with total sincerity and a significant amount
of style.
“Drama Zone” has a big, sludgey blues
riff that makes everything go, but everything would be a little paler without
the sympathetic rhythm section work and another great James vocal. Two Wheels
Down a Lost Highway finishes up with “Rock Salt & Nails”. Some might expect
such an ending after the bluster and chest-beating soul preceding it, but the
effect is still strong to end this album with an understated acoustic blues.
The Righteous Hillbillies bring a lot of fire to these songs, but they harness
a variety of approaches to get this collection over. There isn’t an
unsuccessful song on this release, but it isn’t because the band aims their
sights low. Two Wheels Down a Lost Highway is a powerful effort that will
invigorate blues fans and has the potential to earn many new fans for the band.
9 out of 10 stars
William Elgin III
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