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Rockzilla handed me this CD at a house concert in Denton a
month back. I tilted my head and eyed him suspiciously, kinda
like an old rottweiler that's just been offered a fluffy chew
toy would. Said something along the lines of, "Blues? I
can't write no damn review of a blues CD, Rock. I don't know
jack about the blues." He sorta smiled, gave me that I'm
Rockzilla and You're Gonna Do It look, and said, "Give it
a try." So for a month I've put my CD collection aside and
listened a hell of a lot to "Mean" Gene Kelton and
his boys, stopping only to catch Macon Greyson and Kinky Friedman
in a five-day span at Poor David's Pub. Here's what I found out.
"I was born in Mississippi on the wrong side of the tracks
Three families shared the tin roof of a sharecroppers shack
We chopped wood in the winter drew our water from a well
We went to Church on Sunday, Lord but everyday was hell"
--From "Too White to Play the Blues"
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Gene's chops are authentic. Grew up in the Deep South, Missippi
and Louisiana, and ran away to Texas at 16. From early on he
had the real life experience to understand what he heard from
Muddy Waters and B.B. King and the like in smoky roadhouses.
Things may be better for him now, but there've been a couple
of wives and plenty of miles in between; his music says he learned
from it all and figured out how to laugh anyway.
This CD, fifteen cuts, is a compilation of the most requested
songs from his live shows. As anybody who's ever drunk their
fill in a roadhouse or East Texas honky-tonk would expect, "most
requested" means funniest, earthiest, and definitely adult.
Not a CD for the kiddos, but a great one to fire up when the
rugrats are at the in-laws' and Mama's got that Little Black
Dress (see cut no. 11 on this CD) on.
Gene wrote all 15 songs on this CD, and cut them "live"
in the studio with minimal production. Backed by his sons Jamie
Kelton (bass) and Sid Kelton (drums), with Bob Coyne on keyboards
and Kenny Jackson on percussion, he turns out a disc that captures
the live energy that is essential to the blues' power and vitality.
True to tradition, every song tells a story that seems familiar
and touches on universal truth. And a bunch of 'em make you laugh
out loud, to boot. The sound is clear, but the otherwise scant
production allows the listener to sop up every meaty riff and
feel the miles in Gene's throaty delivery like the concrete was
stretching out under your own feet.
The songs are lyrical genius, phrases twisted to wring every
possible meaning from what started as simple words on paper.
There's not a song on the disc that doesn't make you stop at
least once and think, "Did I hear that right?" In effect,
Gene Kelton takes the storied history of the blues and its musical
heritage, combines it with the Southern penchant for turning
a phrase, and lets loose with Texas music that deserves its own
spotlight. From "Texas Honey," the lead track, with
its chorus,
"I would walk barefoot across a hundred miles of hot
coals and broken glass
Swim the sea, crawl on my hands and knees across the burning
desert sands
I would storm the gates of hell - cut heads with the devil himself
For one sweet taste of heaven - Texas Honey"
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that describes memories of skinny dippin' nights with Lone
Star and the preacher's daughter, to the keynote cut, "My
Baby Don't Wear No Panties, (ask me how I know)," this CD
deserves a listen. There are tales of blowup dolls, Avon men
(a definite keeper, the song you want your wife to hear next
time she says something less than flattering about your present
employment or lack thereof), times gone by cruising Texas Avenue
in Baytown, and a Texas City dyke who can touch her eyebrows
with her tongue. And in the middle of all this, when you're laughing
and remembering characters you've seen around this state, Mean
Gene stops for a second and explains in four lines why real Texas
music will never die. The song is "If This Guitar Could
Talk." The story goes that over the years, as Gene's guitar
has earned its "character" on the road, that fans often
wonder aloud to him just what that guitar could say and what
stories it could tell. The answer? Well, here it is:
If this guitar could talk - don't you think you might hear
How the road goes on forever, just follow the trail of tears
It's secrets might surprise you, its time for show and tell
Cause this guitar is talkin', tellin' you about yourself
Mean Gene Kelton's music shows he knows the same secret that
Chris Wall and Ray Wylie Hubbard and Townes Van Zandt and Guy
Clark and Jack Ingram and the rest of the Texas music pantheon
live by: the music is real, because it comes from the life we
all live every day. It's about us. And from this reviewer's hardcore
country and Texas perspective, he's worth a listen. And so you
know, portions of the proceeds from this particular CD's sales
are being donated to the Houston Blues Society's "Blues
in School" program. Regardless of your musical taste, you
have to appreciate it anytime an artist who's paid the dues and
lived a hardscrabble life putting out music that's true turns
around and gives back to the community where he made it.
For more info on Mean Gene Kelton, check out www.genekelton.com.
You can also email him at gkelton-at-swbell.net.
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