Artist: Mike Cooley
Album: The Fool On Every Corner
Bitrate: 222kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Cooley Records
Genre: Rock
Size: 79.99 megs
PlayTime: 0h 47min 45sec total
Rip Date: 2014-10-28
Store Date: 2012-12-11
Track List:
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01. Loaded Gun In The Closet 5:04
02. Cottonseed 4:52
03. Guitar Man Upstairs 2:47
04. Cartoon Gold 2:46
05. Pulaski 4:04
06. 3 Dimes Down 3:15
07. Eyes Like Glue 2:55
08. Carl Perkins Cadillac 5:13
09. Behind Closed Doors 2:59
10. Marry Me 4:47
11. Where The Devil Don't Stay 3:17
12. Shut Up And Get On The Plane 2:51
13. Drinking Coke And Eating Ice 2:55
Release Notes:
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Since the bandÆs inception, Mike Cooley has been the Drive-By Truckers
understated ôother voiceö. True, former members Jason Isbell and Shonna Tucker
have each had their own turns at the mic, but Cooley co-founded the band with
Patterson Hood and his rich southern baritone is instantly recognizable,
especially when it butts up against HoodÆs strained tenor. Besides both having
distinctive Alabama drawls, the two men sound nothing alike when singing.
Another thing that sets Cooley and Hood apart is their songwriting speed. Hood
is extremely prolific. Even though the Drive-By Truckers have released four
albums in the past five years, Hood has still found time to squeeze in two solo
albums. Cooley, by contrast, seems content to contribute his standard two or
three songs to each Truckers album and go about his business.
As a result, CooleyÆs first solo record is a live album consisting largely of
his Truckers material. Recorded over three nights in March 2012, it finds him
alone on stage with only an acoustic guitar for accompaniment. And he went even
further in stripping it down, choosing to leave his picks at home and play
everything with his fingers. Such a barebones approach is meant to bring out the
core of each song, but in reality it ends up hurting about half of the tracks on
the album. The Fool on Every Corner obviously wasnÆt intended to be a referendum
on CooleyÆs melody-writing skills, but with such a minimalist approach to the
guitar, thatÆs how it ends up.
The album begins with ôLoaded Gun in the Closetö, a quiet ballad that at first
seems like a strange choice for an opener. But the studio version of the song is
essentially the same as this one; itÆs simply Cooley singing over a quiet,
finger-picked guitar line. Because of that, this is a perfect rendition of the
song and a great performance. The menacing outlaw ode ôCottonseedö comes next,
and itÆs the one time Cooley swaps out his guitar for a banjo. Obviously the
banjo is meant for finger-picking, anyway, so ôCottonseedö sounds quite good,
and the rowdy crowd clearly appreciates it.
The middle of the album is where the acoustic approach does the songs no favors.
A run of deeper cuts ends up relying almost entirely on CooleyÆs storytelling
skills. Southern Rock Opera rocker ôGuitar Man Upstairsö has a great story, so
it survives the stripping down intact. Newer songs like ôCartoon Goldö, ôEyes
Like Glueö, and ôPulaskiö are all pretty ballads, but feel inconsequential with
just the singing and barely-there guitar parts. The hard rocker ô3 Dimes Downö
comes off sounding the worst. Stripped off all its guitar riffing, solos, and
backbeat, the song is left searching for a hook, or even a decent melody, and
never finds either.
When Cooley gets around to his heavy hitters and crowd favorites on the back end
of the record, the songs come to life. ôCarl PerkinsÆ Cadillacö has both a great
story (the history of Sun Records) and a great vocal melody, and is just as
lively here as in the full band version. Cooley pulls out a cover of Charlie
RichÆs ôBehind Closed Doorsö and it turns into a whole crowd sing along, much to
CooleyÆs delight. The album follows that up with ôMarry Meö, perhaps the
ultimate Cooley fan-favorite. Despite being another hard rocker, the forceful
vocals give the song the energy that CooleyÆs sedate guitar playing lacks. As
fun as the song is, itÆs not an ideal recording, since several men in the crowd
insist on tunelessly shouting out the lyrics along with Cooley without even
attempting to sing. ôThe Devil DonÆt Stayö misses its thumping beat, but its
creepy guitar line is fully intact. Similarly, ôShut Up and Get on the Planeö is
recast from a roaring rocker to a country cautionary tale. In both of these
cases, the core of the song remains strong despite the acoustic rearrangement.
The Fool on Every Corner closes out with a new song, ôDrinking Coke and Eating
Iceö. ItÆs a song with a nice little guitar line, and stream of
consciousness-style lyrics. Since itÆs new, it doesnÆt suffer from the
preconceptions of some of the other songs on the album, and it sounds more like
a promising demo for a future Drive-By Truckers song. While these live shows
were probably a unique, intimate experience for a select few Drive-By Truckers
fans, it doesnÆt come off quite so well on this recording. CooleyÆs intention to
strip everything down was a good one, but clearly that doesnÆt work for all of
his songs. Still, the best material here sounds exactly as good as youÆd expect,
and anyone whoÆs a fan of CooleyÆs Truckers songs will probably ultimately be
satisfied with this album.