The Righteous Hillbillies - Two Wheels
Down a Lost Highway
The power and passion brought to bear
on the ten tracks compromising Two Wheels Down a Lost Highway marks a
significant leap forward thanks to the added spike of songwriting talent
enlivening the songs. The Righteous Hillbillies are quite talented at calling
upon tradition to inform their songs, but their fourth studio album finds them
upping the ante with an increased emphasis on songwriting outstripping the
band’s laudable past accomplishments while still remaining true to the original
impetus driving their creativity and sound. Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Brent
James, lead guitarist Nick Normando, keyboardist Chris Bartley, drummer Barret
Harvey, and bassist Jeff Bella are at or near their collective and individual
artistic peaks within this context and they are stretching in ways they only
hinted at on previous releases. Two Wheels Down a Lost Highway might be rooted
in the blues and blues rock, but they aren’t content with merely revamping a
bygone form. Instead, the album’s ten songs are a sturdy reminder of what great
songwriting can do with old forms.
Two Wheels Down a Lost Highway begins
with the memorable opener “Rollin’”. The Righteous Hillbillies are just one of
those rare, but great bands, where each individual member is crucial to
bringing the proper final effect. The building blocks of the ten songs
invariably are focused on the rhythm section and one of the best examples comes
with this song. Barret Harvey’s drumming and Jeff Bella’s bass playing. Brent
James gives a great vocal here and on the album’s second track “Throwing
Stones” that ranks among the album’s best moments. The second song has much
more firepower than the opener, or at least utilizes the band’s talents in a
much different way, but it illustrates another key strength of the band. The
union between guitars and the organ are a big part of the band’s sound on
“Throwing Stones”. It’s certainly just as true on the album’s third track “All
Down But Nine”, but there’s another aspect to this track not as pronounced on
the earlier numbers. Brent James’ songwriting has a spartan style, ideal for
the blues because he doesn’t waste a word, and creates strong characters
through a keen minded use of imagery. Those storytelling strengths are used in
a slightly different direction and come into sharper focus on the title track,
but the major story with this song is how well integrated the acoustic and
electric guitars are around the typically strong rhythm section playing.
The wasted, jagged beauty of “Call Me a
Doctor” comes from a place of lusty desperation and Chris Bartley’s piano is a
big reason for that. The lyrics run through a well arranged cavalcade of blues
tropes, but James guts it out with such unbridled gusto that it’s difficult not
to like it. The uptempo quasi-shuffle of “Shackles & Chains” reeks of the
yearning of freedom implied in its title. James lays down a vocal that has
every bit of needed punch to get those lyrics over. Two Wheels Down a Lost
Highway gets over thanks to a fair amount of gravel and grit dredged up from
the details of the their lives. It scores big and will make plenty of fans
happy.
8 out of 10 stars
Dale Butcher
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