Mark Jungers & the Whistling Mules
One For the Crow
American Rural Records
By Al Kunz
 It was December,
2002 and I was in Houston thawing out and satisfying my Texas-music-Jones
over a long weekend. The schedule was full except for a gaping
hole on Sunday. Apparently everyone in Houston was taking that
day of rest thing seriously. I ended up heading south, spending
Sunday at Schroeder
Hall at an all day benefit show, listening to a variety of
Texas music and bullshitting with one of Rockzillaworld's
favorite philosophers, Dallas songwriter Jay Johnson. Among
the performances that day was a short set by one of Jay's friends,
Mark Jungers.
Driving back to Houston I spun Jungers' newest disc, Standing
in Your Way , and was blown away. Mark's themes of common
small-town folks struggling to get by reminded me of the songwriting
of Fred Eaglesmith, one of my favorites. Based on Jungers' cover
of "Benchseat Baby" on the latest
Eaglesmith tribute I wasn't the only one who thought Jungers
and Eaglesmith were simpatico. As I put together my end-of-year
top-ten-favorites list Jungers' was there while Eaglesmith's
2002 release, Falling
Stars and Broken Hearts, wasn't.
If I said that One For the Crow, the follow-up to Standing
in Your Way, was more of the same it would be a compliment
of the highest order. In a way One For the Crow is just
that, but it also reflects enough positive evolution in songwriting,
performance, and production to best Standing in Your Way.
You'll still hear plenty of small-town stories, but these don't
overshadow the more universal themes of romance and friendship
that even those who've never lived in a small town can relate
to.
Of all the songs on One For the Crow "Bucky's
Car" is the one that struck a chord with me immediately.
I won't relate the details of my experience (even though the
statute of limitations has to be up by now). Jungers' has no
such qualms, relating all the details of this true story about
his high school band getting home from a gig, running on the
rims of two flat tires until the gas tank goes dry.
A three mile walk never felt so bad, I'd had all that I
could take
I found an old field car at the cement plant and the keys was
lying under the seat
With the thought of you rolling through my head, I had to make
it back in time
Grand theft never felt so good as the night Bucky's car broke
down
If your teenage years were less felonious that Mark's or mine
then "Bucky's Car" might not resonate the same for
you, but "Just Can't Wait" (about leaving home, only
to find out it isn't quite what you expected) "Fool Like
Me," dissecting the end of a friendship, or the breakup
song, "You Left the First Time," should. The more
felonious or those who live their outlaw fantasies vicariously
should like "Guns & Dust." Reminiscent of Charlie
Robison's "Desperate Times" in its depiction of Charlie,
"a small town boy with nothing left to lose," who makes
an unorthodox vocational choice when "dealing dope became
his trade." Jungers' tune of "guns and dustbowl blues"
ends just as ugly as Robison's. Desperate times indeed.
Well the cops were all around with the first shot ringing
loud
Charlie took one in the leg, they put him on the ground
But no one saw where Charlie fell and it's probably just as well
Cus it don't really matter now, it's all blown to hell
Of the fourteen tracks on One For the Crow, Jungers
wrote all but two, a cover of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils'
"Walking Down the Road" and "Break In," another
lawbreaking song, this time from the viewpoint of the victim.
Written by Jungers' friend Don Phee about an apartment break
in, this one has a chorus that's somehow infectious in spite
of the less than uplifting lyrics.
Break in, nothing left to play with
Everything we thought we ever needed, gone, gone, gone, gone
Break in, this neighborhood is going down
It's time for movin' on
The rationale for the disc's title was confusing until I noticed
a saying on the back of the CD case, "One for the rock /
One for the Crow / One to die / One to grow." A quick web
search turned up this link www.gardendigest.com/seeds.htm where I discovered
that this is an English gardeners saying. I'd say that One
For the Crow is really the seed that's going to grow.
www.markjungers.com
Contact Al Kunz at kunz-at-rockzilla.net
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