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Kent Finley Tribute
Dreamer: A Tribute To
Kent Finlay
Eight 30 Records
THIS COLLECTION OF 14 SONGS,
all written by the late Kent Finlay,
owner of Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos and mentor to
numerous songwriters, was produced by his daughter Jenni and by
Brian T. Atkinson. Each singer on it
has been one that Finlay supported
by not only his words, but also his
actions. He once told me that there
wasn’t any good in helping someone
if you weren’t going to give them
your all.
Kent Kent Finlay’s songs are a
study of human behavior. Randy
Rogers and Sunny Sweeney share
vocals on “Just Between You and
Me.” Walt Wilkins brings truism to
“The Bright Lights of Brady,” and
Jamie Lynn Wilson and everyone
who wanted to jump in and become
the “Hill Country Choir” do a fine job
on the song that Randy Rogers Band
took to the top of the Texas charts,
“The Hill Country.” There’s others
on this recording, names very easily
recognizable including James
McMurtry, Terri Hendrix, and William Clark Green.
This CD, one of my favorites for
2016, would be a valuable addition
to anyone’s collection.
—MARY JANE FARMER
Dave Insley
Just The Way That I Am
Independent Release
SO MUCH OF COUNTRY’S
gone pop now that it’s refreshing to
come across a traditional C&W recording like the new release from
Dave Insley, “Just The Way That I
Am”.
Insley’s rich, smooth baritone
drips with honky-tonk cool. That
big voice deserves great lyrics, and it
gets them in a wonderful variety of
imaginative material. Insley wrote
ten of the tunes, and co-wrote the
other two (the last track with Rosie
Flores). His band, The Careless
Smokers, show off their skills as the
tight group countless live shows have
made them. Many other fine musicians make cameos, (Kelly Willis,
Dale Watson, & Redd Volkaert to
name a few) but the real star here is
Insley’s tantalizing voice. Whether
narrating a tale of lonely hearts hooking up (“Win-Win Situation For Losers”), a comical imagery of death as a
merciful release (“Dead and Gone”),
a gunslinger ballad (“Arizona Territory, 1904”) or a beautiful tribute to
his wife (“We’re All Here Together
Because of You”) these songs thump
with the heartbeat of a music mans
life.
Dave Insley is asking you to take
him “Just The Way That I Am.” And
this release is good enough to do just
that.
—BLUE LISA
Robby White
Sam Colt and Jesus
Independent release
I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO EXpect from
Robby White’s newest release,
Sam Colt and Jesus but when the first
song on the album, I Ain’t Sorry,
opened with a quote from the movie,
Barbarosa, I knew it was going to be
something special. From one song to
the next, a story unfolds. Living in 3/
4 Time, co-written with Tom
McElvain, is a lament about the fast
pace we all live these days. No one
stops to smell the roses or dance to a
waltz. As Robby sings about riding
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BUDDY
JUNE 2016
the trail with Billy and
helping him bust out of
the Lincoln County Jail
on a “Hundred Years Too
Late,” I feel his sadness
and frustration of living
in the 21st century.
“How About You” is a
poetic reflection of how
often we complain when
in truth there is nothing
to complain about. Fort
Worth, “I Love You” is an
upbeat tribute to
Cowtown. “Little More
Love,” written by Mark
Alan Atwood expresses a
life philosophy and Robby
does a fantastic deliverance of the message. But,
the icing on the cake is
the title track, “Sam Colt
and Jesus.” Robby has this
quote on the back of the
CD, “God created men. Jim Suhler
Sam Colt made them
equal.” The movie clip from Barbarosa
at the beginning of this song is Willie
saying this, “I reckon Sam Colt makes
about everyone the same size.” If you
like pure honest music, you will love
Robby White’s true concept album,
Sam Colt and Jesus. You won’t hear
any fancy guitar licks; no special
effects or hype, just raw Texas emotion. It’s like black and white pictures — no frills, no fluff, but plenty
of brilliantly written and delivered
lyrics about sin and redemption in
1880.
—JAN SIKES
Glenna Bell
Lone Star: Songs and
Stories Straight from
the Heart of Texas
Independent Release
FROM DOWN SOUTH WHERE
Country and Americana intersect
with blues comes a new self-release
from Houston singer/songwriter/guitarist Glenna Bell Lone Star: Songs
and Stories from the Heart of Texas. An
intimate project, Bell’s throaty croon
invites you to sit a spell on the porch
while she weave’s tales of love, loss
and Texas.
A prolific songwriter, Glenna
wrote eight of the ten tracks. The
project feels like an adult lullaby of
sorts — the beauty of the sparse
production soothing you into a relaxed but contemplative mood. Finding love in “So In Love With You,”
facing the impermanent nature of
life in “Everybody’s Changing,” calling it like it is in “Pig in Lipstick
Blues” — you’ve been there too. It’s
called life.
No surprise that she covers the
poignant “Heart of the Matter” written by fellow Texan, Don Henley. But
it’s an original take on the tune – she
manages to make the song you know
feel brand new again.
Glenna Bell’s no damsel in distress – these songs tell you she has a
firm grasp on where she’s been and
where she’s going. But pause and
listen to Lone Star: Songs and Stories
Straight From Texas and enjoy where
she is now.
—BLUE LISA
Jim Suhler & Monkey
Beat
Jim Suhler & Monkey
Beat – Live at the
Kessler
Underworld Records
Dallas’ Kessler Theater has earned a
reputation as the best listening room
in North Texas. When Jim Suhler &
Monkey Beat, who have earned a
reputation for intensely engaging
(and often lengthy) live performances
chuck flores
RECORD
REVIEWS
take the stage at this historic Oak
Cliff venue, the results are satisfying
on so many levels.
It’s not hyperbole when I say that
this is one of the best live recordings
I’ve heard from anyone in some time.
The textures, tones and nuances of
the instruments come through vividly, with transparent highs and a
warm, deep bottom end. Additionally, the great mix reveals the quality
of Suhler’s voice.
Suhler has been a vital part of the
Dallas and North Texas music scene
for well over three decades. An exceptionally gifted six-stringer, especially on slide guitar, he distills a
unique blend of blues and rock that
pleases both the blues and the rock
crowds.
Over these years, through dedication, discipline and relentless touring, he’s honed his guitar and vocal
chops, but perhaps more significantly, he’s emerged as a quality
songwriter. Maybe that’s why Jim
Suhler & Monkey Beat – Live at the
Kessler (Underworld Records) works
so well.
All 16 songs on Live at the Kessler
are Suhler originals. All but two are
from earlier Jim Suhler & Monkey
Beat releases - Bad JuJu (2001), Dirt
Road (2002), Tijuana Bible (2009) and
Panther Burn (2014). There’s the infectious, straight ahead shuffle of “I
Declare,” along with crowd favorites
like “Tijuana Bible,” “Panther Burn”
and “Across the Brazos,” with their
lowdown grooves and wicked slide
guitar work. Along the way, Live at the
Kessler offers up the swampy accordion-laced “Deja Blue” and
“Texassippi,” the ethereal “Morning
Prayer,” with its sweetly teasing, almost Pink Floydish slidework, the
cocky braggadocio of “Scattergun,” as
well as the relentless, no-nonsense
roadhouse boogies of “Doin’ the Best
I can” and “Restless Soul,” the honest
warmth of “Po’ Lightnin” (Suhler’s
tribute to blues legend “Lightnin’
Hopkins,” the hypnotic raga groove
of “Sunday Drunk,” the atmospheric
“Reverie” and the sincere and hopeful
“Prayin’ For Rain,” with its tender
guitar and vocals.
Live at the Kessler features Shawn
Phares (keyboards, accordion),
Christopher Alexander (bass), Beau
Chadwell (drums), along with guest
performances from Tim Alexander
(keyboards, accordion) and Tex
Lovera (cigar box). The CD was produced by Jim Suhler, mobile live
recording was by Eric Scortia, and
the mix by Suhler and Paul Osborn.
Live at the Kessler is a good-feeling CD that that impresses with formidable musicianship, quality
songwriting, enough variety to ensure a great flow, and of course, the
aforementioned incredible sound of
the Kessler itself.
—CHUCK FLORES
“T
“T
HE THING ABOUT WRITing songs is, everything is
songwriting. All you have to do is
remember.”— Guy Clark
Guy Charles Clark was born November 6, 1941 and died May 17,
2016. He was considered by most to
be the first man to meet when one got
to Nashville, Guy Clark and his wife,
Susanna, kept their door ajar for 40
years to all who wanted to pick a few
tunes or write a few songs. During
these years, they became best friends
with the also-great Townes Van
Zandt, and considered Ray Wylie
Hubbard, Rodney Crowell, Mickey
Newbury, and dozens upon dozens
more of their most intimate friends.
Texan by birth and Tennessean
by choice, Guy Clark left his image
permanently in the hearts and minds
of many Kerrville Folk Festival
longtimers. During this 45-annual
festival, memories are blowing like
the winds through the oak trees of
Quiet Valley Ranch. Buddy
Mondlock, still a regular singer/
songwriter at the Kerrville Folk Festivals, told this story about meeting
Mr. Clark there.
“I went to the Kerrville Folk Festival (the first time) mostly because I
saw on the schedule that he was
going to host this thing called the
Ballad Tree one day and that anyone
could sign up to sing a song. I might
get a chance to shake his hand. That
was my whole ambition. Somehow,
after the whole thing was over, he
was walking toward me. ‘Hey, I like
that song you did. Got any more?’
“And then he went right on and
changed my life. ‘Let’s see if we can
get you in the music business,’ he
said a few weeks later on the phone.
He took the demo I gave him and
started passing copies around to his
friends in Nashville. When Guy Clark
gives you a tape, you listen to it. And
so everything changed. He just went
on and kicked the door open. That
was the most generous thing
anybody ever did for me.”
Guy Clark (it’s almost impossible just to say ‘Guy’ — it almost
demands both names be used.) taught
in the songwriter school at Festivals.
Davis, the festival Corn Dog King,
said he remembers Guy Clark as a
mentor to budding songwriters at
one of those early festivals. “He was
such a mentor to all of these guys. It
may not have been an organized
songwriting class, but it could have
been. They all wrote a song together
with Guy Clark and performed it
together on stage.
Sue Medley, another longtime
volunteer and now on the Quiet Valley Ranch Board of Directors, laughed
when she remembered Mr. Clark as
a true
“homegrown tomato. He was the
salt of the Earth. He never had a big
head about his fame, he was just a
good ol’ boy. That’s what I loved
about him.”
Susan Roads, photographer, said
one of her greatest satisfactions was
learning that her work had helped
Mrs. Guy (Susanna) Clark during her
final years after Susanna’s health and
despair made her a one-room hermit. Years previously, Roads had
presented Townes Van Zandt with a
photo she took of him at one of those
late 1970s festivals. She said that,
after Van Zandt’s death, she learned
the photo then hung on the wall
inside Susanna’s bedroom, where,
she was told, it gave her much comfort. “It’s the ultimate fulfillment
knowing something you created gives
someone else peace and joy,” Roads
said.
“Guy could take the simplest
thing and show you what was profound about it. He knew that it’s all
profound. And he knew better than
anyone how to recognize it when he
got it right. He also knew not to let it
go until he got it right. Any one of his
songs will tell you that,” remembered Mondlock.
The Monahans man, Guy Clark,
split his childhood time there and on
the southern Gulf Coast town of
Rockport. During the past decade,
while he could still tour, his Texas
gigs included the Wildflower! Festival, Hank’s Texas Grill, and Poor
David’s Pub. Even after his physical
condition prevented him from going
on the road any more, he kept going
with his songwriting, and only a few
short years ago released his last CD,
My Favorite Picture of You.
The title song, as explained in
several articles, is about Susanna.
But, this reviewer’s favorites are others in the collection, songs that show
he was, even toward the end, the
world’s premier songwriter. “El Coyote,” “Cornmeal Waltz,” and “The
Waltzing Fool” are examples of just
how Mr. Clark understand and captured people’s intrinsic pain and joys.
A understanding of life on life’s terms
that he took with him on May 17,
along with the rogue’s charm that
was Guy Clark.