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Some music
simply can’t be
played in the
background. The
first note
catches you as
the rest of the
world melts away
and you’ve got
no choice but to
stop what you
were doing and
listen.
Jim Byrnes’
new album,
“Everywhere
West”
catches you that
way. Listen
closely and you
can hear the
wind blowing
through the
floorboards of
long abandoned
roadhouses. Wind
that lifts up
the dust ground
down by the
stomping feet of
Saturday night
dancers hurting,
forgetting and
testifying while
Jimmy Reed
hollered down
the devil and
ghosts of done
me wrong
romance. Open
the door a
little wider and
some of that
dust gets down
your throat and
all of that
trapped passion
and good time
hurting becomes
a part of you –
just like the
music of Jim
Byrnes does.
For more than
thirty years,
Jim Byrnes has
woven roots so
deeply into the
Northern Blues
scene that it’s
difficult to
remember that
this
quintessentially
Canadian icon
was raised in
St. Louis and
that his
instantly
recognizable
gruff as
sandpaper, sweet
as honey voice
was not always
an essential
part of the
country’s
musical
landscape.
“Everywhere
West”
marks the fourth
collaboration
between the
multi Juno
Award-winning
Byrnes
and musician and
producer,
Steve Dawson.
Fans of their
previous work
can rest assured
that the
intricate
acoustic
melodies, dirty
blues guitar,
funky organ and
passionate
interplay that
we’ve come to
expect when the
two men get
together in the
same room are
here in spades.
If anything, the
conversation
goes a little
deeper this time
around and the
playing is more
assured and
trusting than
it’s ever been
before.
Listening back
to some of the
tracks from the
album, it’s
obvious that
Byrnes is
thrilled with
the results.
“…with Steve,
it’s so much fun
making a record.
It’s just a
bunch of guys
sitting together
and playing the
music we love –
with the tapes
rolling.”
As we’ve come to
expect, the
musicians who
support Byrnes
on this effort
have been
selected from
the country’s
best with Dawson
studio regulars
Keith Lowe
and
Geoff Hicks
laying down a
rock solid
rhythm section
while
Jeanne Tolmie
offers her usual
heavenly back up
vocals. Special
guest
Keith Bennett
turns in some
tasty harmonica
parts while
Canadian fiddle
and horn legend,
Daniel Lapp,
blesses
listeners with
some absolutely
inspired
performances
throughout the
album.
Whether Byrnes
is singing a
Mississippi
Sheiks chestnut
like
“Bootlegger’s
Blues”
or wailing his
way through a
stripped down
banjo driven
version of Bobby
Bland’s
“Yield Not To
Temptation”, he effortlessly inhabits every syllable and corner of this music.
Testifying with
a poise and
authority that
few can muster,
he adds weight
and depth to a
Dave Van Ronk
inspired take of
“He Was a Friend
of Mine”.
Three
Byrnes originals
round out the
album –
“Hot As A
Pistol”
– a passionate
straight up
blues rave,
“Storm Warning”
– a first take
recording, and
finally,
“Me and Piney
Brown”
– a lovely
‘autobiographical
dream tune’ that
evokes an
imaginary
journey to
Kansas City in
1938.
As Jim writes in
his liner notes,
“Everywhere
West”
is dedicated to
‘those who came
before’, but
this music
doesn’t belong
in a museum. As
Byrnes notes,
“Deep down,
blues is an
acceptance of
life. You stand
in front of life
and life says,
‘that’s the way
it is baby’. To
play the blues,
you take all the
bullshit that’s
been piling up
and you channel
it through your
guitar and
voice. You let
the pain go
and turn it into
a good feeling.
That’s the blues
– pure and
simple.”
Pure and simple
doesn’t get any
better than
this. When you
hear Jim Byrnes
pour his whole
soul into
singing a line
as simple as
‘One sunny day,
I’ll be home to
stay’, you’ll
instantly know
that this is the
kind of music
you’re going to
want to listen
to forever – and
that nearly
fifty years
after first
wondering ‘how
blue can you
get?’, Jim
Byrnes has found
his voice and is
just hitting his
stride. |
