Artist: Randall Bramblett
Album: Devil Music
Bitrate: 245kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: New West
Genre: Rock
Size: 91.16 megs
PlayTime: 0h 49min 45sec total
Rip Date: 2015-10-10
Store Date: 2015-09-18
Track List:
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01. Dead In The Water 4:23
02. Devil Music 4:49
03. Bottom Of The Ocean 3:49
04. Angel Child 4:50
05. Pride In The Place 3:55
06. Reptile Pilot 3:19
07. Whiskey Headed Woman 5:53
08. Strong Love 4:34
09. Ride 5:46
10. Thing For You 4:44
11. Missing Link 3:43
Release Notes:
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A man with as much experience as he has ingenuity, Randall Bramblett has been a
singer-songwriter, a session musician, and a hired gun for legends such as Gregg
Allman and Steve Winwod. BramblettÆs latest release from his more than thirty
years in the business, Devil Music, delivers the expected level of virtuosity,
and surprises with a deep-fried, novel twist of Southern darkness. ôDead in the
Water,ö the albumÆs lead single is equally fulfilled through evocative lyrics,
well-timed and managed effects, and instrumental superiority; a narrative of
nowhere, the track is populated by dead-end characters and lowly living;
fitting, for a track that Bramblett claims is inspired by William S. Burroughs.
While immersing itself in the wonderfully weird, infinitely spiraling darkness
of whimsy that exemplifies some of Tom WaitsÆ best work, ôDead in the Waterö
sees a guest appearance by storied axeman Mark Knopfler.
The title track begins with a West Coast hip-hop rhythm that sounds like a test
beat for NasÆ Illmatic before the distorted twang of the guitar comes through to
tell the soulful, adamant story of HowlinÆ WolfÆs meeting and inevitable
conflict with his absent mother. Horns and much implied head-bobbing give this
track a sour, gospel kick, the kind youÆd find in a decades-old Louisiana
bourbon. ôBottom of the Oceanö is a B.B. King-style blues ballad about a
pleading love that features some of the best guitar work and a brass chorus that
betrays the speakerÆs self-damnation.
Bramblett reminds us that he is also an accomplished vocalist by employing a
smooth falsetto on ôAngel Childö before giving the listener an ominous, yet
chorus heavy, look at avoiding compromise with ôPride in Place.ö ôReptile Pilotö
delivers the beat poetry of BramblettÆs quasi-surrealist lyrics along with a
strong jazz emphasis, landing the listener front and center at a Bukowski
reading accompanied by a six-piece band at The Blue Whale. The jazz cools off a
bit and experiments with some alien sounds on the track ôWhiskey Headed Womanö
and ôStrong Loveö supplies the catchiest, repeated guitar riff of the album.
A twinkling piano and an empty scene of isolation and forced loneliness
introduce the track ôRide,ö a lamentful ballad of packing up and leaving it all
behind. The alternating static and clarity define the speakerÆs ambivalent
attitude towards his lover in ôThing for Youö and BramblettÆs signature organ
features prominently on the albumÆs closing track, ôMissing Link,ö in which the
speaker takes the role of a supernatural savior.
Always surprising and impressively inventive, Devil Music is the most original,
most authentic album to drop this year and an enjoyable listen for fans of jazz,
soul, rock, gospel, blues, and exceptionally gifted songwriters who are
re-defining the hallowed traditions of a sacred music.