Boy howdy! I'm no Roger Miller expert, I know a good few of his hits, as it's impossible not to know King Of The Road or In The Summertime but am unfamiliar with most of the songs chosen for this tribute album by Matthias Kom and Toby Goodshank. Matthias is best known as part of Burning Hell and when touring with Toby found they shared a love of Roger Millers work. Listening to this album is obviously preferable to drinking Miller Beer if you feel the need for some Miller time.
The album opens with the gentle hillbilly blues of 0o-De-Lally a song that at least in parts is about drinking tainted water, with a sparse arrangement this is short and sweet.
Dang Me has mordant gallows humor, weird sound effects, with talk sung vocals as he tells us they really ought to hang him, the lyrics are clever, this has a classic Nashville syrupy country backing.
Tom Green County Fair is notionally about getting lost from your parents as a kid at the County fair, then getting up to no good, while describing what you see, from the rodeo to the Ferris wheel and seeing Billy Swan while your parents get drunk, all while sounding a bit Simon & Garfunkel.
Fair Swiss Maiden sounds like it should have been a song in the Sound Of Music, but this version as well as yodeling has a long tone synth undertow as the oompah lyrics about an arranged marriage unfolds.
You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd would seem to be sage advice, as they tell us you can be happy if you want to, aside a list of other absurd things with a tin whistle and acoustic guitar backing.
When Two Worlds Collide is played as a slow waltz time oompah ballad that bring out the sadness at the core of this much covered classic, that I'd prefer to hear by Jim Reeves or BJ Thomas.
King Of The Road is Rogers huge hit and after a Convoy style intro is taken pretty straight as this song of the hard scrabble life of the poor in the US unfolds with all of its sadness punctuated by the horn section.
Dad Blame Anything A Man Can't Quit has a title that sort of explains the song for you as you find ever more fantastic excuses for your own inadequacies, this sounds old timey and very well put together.
Not In Nottingham is a slow ballad taken from the cartoon version of Robin Hood, they play it real slow and sad, like they've been refused entry to Nottingham Rock City for looking too country, as what sounds like a Zither does a few odd things, against the acoustic picked guitar and tambourine backing, the Sheriff is still a real pain in the balls, but what did you expect.
My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died is about Rogers childhood adoption after his parents died and the hard scrabble life with his uncle, some of the lyrics will give you a wry smile but at this songs core is the sad tale of life in depression era America.
The album closes with Walkin' In The Sunshine a slow paean to being able to go for a nice walk in that Sunshine, despite everything that's been happening in your life, leave your troubles behind and enjoy the walk as the gentle organ helps drive you along that path.
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