ARTIST: Backyard Tire Fire
TITLE: Vagabonds and Hooligans
LABEL: O.L.E. Records
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 188kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 42m total
RELEASE DATE: 2007-02-06
RIP DATE: 2007-01-29
Track List
----------
1. Vagabonds And Hooligans 3:47
2. Undecided 3:33
3. Green Eyed Soul 3:23
4. Apparitions 3:34
5. Corinne 6:16
6. A Long Time 3:42
7. Tom Petty 1:58
8. The Wrong Hand 3:20
9. Don't Know What To Do 2:15
10. Get Wise 4:35
11. Downtime 3:32
12. It's A Good Night 3:01
Release Notes:
As their moniker suggests, Backyard Tire Fire churns out a barely-controlled
conflagrationùstarting off low and slow, flaring into a flat-out blaze at the
whim of a breeze, then drawing back down into a pungent, smoky flameùyet always
smoldering with a stubborn intensity that will not be ignored.
On their third disc, Vagabonds and Hooligans, Backyard Tire Fire continues to
hone and expand upon the distinctive, pan-genre songbook of front-man Ed
Anderson, tapping into the serpentine roots mΘlange thatÆs fueled
fellow-travelers Brent Best (Slobberbone, The Drams), Patterson Hood (Drive-By
Truckers), Adam Levy (The Honeydogs) and many more.
The band began to take shape in late-2000/early-2001 in the hill country of
Asheville, NC, where Anderson (fresh from a five-year stint as guitar avatar in
the popular, Chicago-based Brother Jed) looked to redirect his songwriting
efforts into a vein that was, at once, more musically subtle and more
emotionally sophisticated.
Along with co-founder Tim Kramp, Anderson and BTF performed regularly in the
Asheville area beginning in 2001, quickly expanding into the alt-rock haven of
Athens, GA. After recording their debut, Live at the Georgia Theatre in 2002,
Anderson and Kramp relocated to the Midwest, setting up base camp in
Bloomington, IL with EdÆs rock-solid brother Matt more than ably taking over
bass/backing vocal duties.
Through it all, BTF continued to expand their stylistic range, dipping into
folk, pop, alt-country, Southern rock, R&B and rockÆnÆroll, all of which was
imbued with AndersonÆs deft, seemingly-effortless lyrical gift for illuminating
blue-collar stories with shock-of-recognition detail and a voice as comfortably
worn as a favorite shirt.
Via extensive touring (from clubs to festivals), BTF has built reputation as a
compelling, remarkably flexible live act, sharing stages with such diverse
luminaries as Son Volt, Alejandro Escovedo, James McMurtry, The Radiators, North
Mississippi Allstars, Will Hoge, Jackie Greene, The Mother Hips, William Elliot
Whitmore and Dan Bernùand gathering a hard-won fan-base along the way.
The bandÆs uncommon growth and casual command of their material were underscored
by their slinky sophomore disc (2005Æs Bar Room Semantics), which drew
across-the-board critical acclaim while garnering glowing comparisons to
Drive-By Truckers (Harp), Jeff Tweedy/Wilco (CincinnatiÆs City Beat), the
Jayhawks and Whiskeytown (Americana UK), Slobberbone, Neil Young and Gram
Parsons (Dallas Observer), Violent Femmes (JamBase) and Jay Farrar/Uncle Tupelo
(Illinois Times).
Like its predecessor, the brand-new Vagabonds and Hooligans is co-produced by
BTF and Tony SanFilippo with organic, old-school immediacy, utilizing the
vintage early-Æ70s 3M tape machine (a la the Rolling StonesÆ Exile on Main
Street) and gear housed at SanFilippoÆs proudly-analog Oxide Lounge Recording
studio in Bloomington.
Although outwardly similar in tone and texture to Bar Room Semantics, Vagabonds
and Hooligans is palpably more assured, accomplished and cohesive, the tracking
order of the far-ranging tunes more expertly positioned, andùas Ed readily
acknowledgesùôthis record rocks a little more; I take a couple of solos out a
little bit, something we do much more live.ö
Not surprisingly, the aforementioned æoutÆ-bound solos underscore AndersonÆs
six-string facility and range, from the soaring, lyrical fretwork on the
impossibly lovely, Beatle-esque (right down to KrampÆs æpuddinÆ headÆ tub-work)
anthem ôCorinneö to the muscular, stream-of-consciousness Southern rock rave-up
of ôDowntime.ö
Clearly, the boy could be an all-world air-guitar poster-child, but the lyrical
content herein and the bandÆs attendant, sublime attention to making the music
æserve the songÆ holds sway.
Whether delivered in the first or third person, AndersonÆs tunes continue to
eloquently address regret, disconnectedness, internal demons and the dark end of
the street, in generalùjust witness this brain-pan-spinner from the
outwardly-placid title cut:
ôVagabonds and hooligans are beating down the door
Of the house that burns on the hill inside my headàö
Yikes!! ItÆs not all heavy-lifting, though, as the spirited, tongue-in-cheek
rock-star romp on ôTom Pettyö underscores, but most of AndersonÆs hunting takes
place in the tall, tall grass, simply because thatÆs where the biggest beasts
areà
Big-hearted, jarringly direct and riding a powerful, upward arc, Backyard Tire
Fire is a happening thing. Wake up and smell the burning rubberà