Steve Elliott & Lucie Walker
Straight Up
El-Wa-Co Records EWC01


by William Michael Smith

There's a redneck ball at the Veteran's hall
And the telephone spreads the news
The country folk get together at night
It's a cure for the summertime blues
Everybody here knows everybody's car
It's a big city night in a small town bar
And everybody's rocking to a steel guitar
And they just take it as it comes

Vancouverites Steve Elliott and Lucie Walker sound like they've spent a lot of time channeling some errant Austin vibe bouncing off the Aurora Borealis. Listen to Straight Up once and you'll instantly comprehend why they styled their website as www.rockincountryblues.com. Straight Up, another album pointed out to us by Australian disc jockey Eric Black ("Blue Country Radio"), is a warm, friendly, unpretentious, imminently listenable roots rock Americana album full of roadhouse jump and grab-your-partner, dim-lights, slow-dance tunes that would fit in the Broken Spoke or Ginny's Little Longhorn as well as any of the current Austin faves.

Elliott and Walker trade off on lead vocals (Elliott is the rough-edged Bad Cop while Walker is the pure-toned, angelic Good Cop in this duo). Their singing is the centerpiece the songs are built around, and their zippy, tongue-tripping, double-time, now-what-did-they-say duets on several tracks may be the most appealing musical element on the album.

Elliott is the primary songwriter and whether it's a rocking, cocky-male-attitude barnburner or a bluesy, swinging love song, he understands the value of a well-placed hook. His songs have the savvy groove and that tell-tale infectiousness that imply that Mr. Elliott has paid his dues in the bars and knows what works (and what causes a singer to duck behind the chicken wire).

She got every little thing about love that a man could want
She got the face of an angel, moves like a debutant
You're settin' me up with that red-hot love
She knows how to love me, knows how to rattle my cage
And when she opened the door
You could feel the fires rage

On several tracks it's also understood that Elliott knows his Canadian musical heritage includes the likes of Ian Tyson and Gordon Lightfoot and George Hamilton IV, so, no matter how hard you rock or how blue you get, you owe it to yourself and your audience not to stray too far from a certain rural element that has always been present in the best of Canadiana. Mission accomplished.

Ms. Walker also takes a turn at songwriting with two tracks and hers is a sweet country-girl style. Where Elliott's songs are more "primal," Walker's are reflective, contemplative, and mellow. She's a deep thinker.

It's all right, just the way it comes
A little rain, a little sun
Life unfolds as it should
It's all right, baby, it's all good

It only hurts when you resist
Then you need your Poor Baby kiss
The did what they could
It's all right, baby, it's all good

One of the keys to Elliott and Walker achieving their rocking country blues sound is the expanded ensemble they play with. They employ steel (Charlie Hase), slide guitar (Jim Foster) and keys (Michael Creiber) on the jumpier rocking numbers, while on the country tracks they use Foster on mandolin and fiddler Frankie Rodgers along with Hase and Creiber. With producer John Cody on drums and Rob Becker on bass, this combo distinguishes itself with the wide variety of styles it plays with ease and familiarity.

Straight Up may never make it into the Billboard Top 10, but I have a different scale for measuring a record. I put it on and open the door so that people walking by (and trust me, these people come in all persuasions) can hear what's being played in my office. In the past month, Straight Up has caused more people to stop and stick their heads in and ask, "what's that you're playing?" (and "where do you buy records like that?") than any record I've received. I attribute this to its being a straight ahead, good-time, accessible album. Imagine making a record like that in this complex age of circus gimmickry.

*When people ask where I get music like Steve Elliott and Lucie Walker's Straight Up, I tell 'em www.rockincountryblues.com Or else they could position themselves under the Aurora Borealis and just wait for the bounce.




Contact William Michael Smith at: wms-at-rockzilla.net

 
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