Around this time of year, I normally post a very lengthy review of Ginger Wildheart's all-star birthday bash, well as this year I'm not allowed out while convalescing from my shoulder op, instead I am writing this overdue review for Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners self-titled country rock album.
The Sinners are a band of top-notch session musicians led by Ginger Wildheart he is joined in his sinning by Neil Ivison, Nick Lyndon, Shane Dixon and special guest backing vocals from Givvi Flynn and Maggie Wildheart. The album was produced by Dave Draper.
The album opens with the country rock of Wasted Times that flies along like an English Blasters, as Ginger sings about it's never a waste of time to spend time with the friend he's singing about and how no matter how they may have drifted apart, they are always welcome back, with the twanging guitars sealing the deal.
That Smile sounds very much like a typical sing along Ginger Wildheart song, the instrumentation might be country but the vocals and song are all Wildhearts as Ginger sings about the joy of seeing that Smile that lifts him from any dark thoughts he may have, this is a musical hoe down with a great backing choir on the chorus.
Footprint In The Sand is a biography in a song, with the feel of early John Cougar Mellencamp, as this song of troubled times and love among the rubble, unfurls among the blue collar rock sentiments, this is a song for the heartlands.
Lately, Always is burnished feeling of love and longing for someone that isn't as sure that the flame is still alive, gently intoxicating.
Dirty Water isn't the garage rock stomper, but a slow country cover of the Status Quo song, that has a down home quality, to the reflective lyrics about being a 24/7 party animal who promises to calm down, so he doesn't sink.
Work In Progress is chugging cowpunk telling us all the ways they are failing to stay sober and clean, hiding whiskey in there Ovaltine and other tricks of the alkies trade, as they sing about more friends dying far too young due excessive lifestyles, as they try to live cleaner and more soberly, this is a good call to the arms of recovery as Givvi joins in to emphasize this needs to be a team effort.
Breakout has a more Celtic feel, this is a bit more acoustic and sparing as the emotions come through, I was almost expecting them to tell us to all join hands, on this song that should be swayed along to as you finally figure out how to Breakout of the same old patterns of behavior.
The cover of The Georgia Satellites classic Six Years Gone is about as straight as you can get, it has the sort of delicious guitar interplay in needs, rock solid beat as Dan Baird's lyrics of love lost and the betrayal involved unfurl, this is a very cool cover of a song I learnt to love long after it first came out.
Not The Staying Kind is a heart broken song about falling deeply in love with a woman who loves far more than just one man at a time, leaving a trail of devastation behind her, this feels like Rodney Crowell at his heart-breaking best as the guitars try to soar there way out of the despair.
The album closes with Code Of The Road, something Ginger knows all about, along with his team of road worn warriors, with sage advice for how to survive in the back of a van/bus as that endless tour goes on, the things to do and not to do, this has a Steve Marriot style feel with the odd interjection making this feel like they are having great fun sitting around a bar singing this song.
Find out more at https://www.facebook.com/gingersinners www.gingerwildheart.net https://round-records.com/product/ginger-wildheart-the-sinners-album-cd-digipak/ https://gingerwildheartwcr.bandcamp.com/album/ginger-wildheart-the-sinners
