I have a belief that the world outside our windows is not reflected by what we see on the news.
God knows, yes, the post-Covid world isn’t great. But people? People, mostly, are just fine.
We are all the same. We want the best for our families, we want to have a laugh, and for whatever sporting team we support to win.
Enter Lukas Nelson and The Promise Of The Real. “Sticks And Stones” has that human connection (note: not the human condition) written all the way through it.
From the opening title track, “Sticks And Stones” reassures with its old-school, classic sound. Then, right in the opening verse, “Sometimes, when I’m uninspired,” he sings, “I take a hit to get me high…..”
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and all that…
I am, of course, duty-bound by review clichés 101 to mention that Lukas is Willie Nelson’s boy, and somehow that seems as good a place as any…
The instantly familiar “Alcohallelujah” underlines tongues are never far from cheeks. There’s a playful air to all this. Indeed, not since Def Leppard enquired whether a rock was out of the question has anything come close. And if “Every Time I Drink” goes straight to the honky-tonk, then “More Than Friends” is nothing more than a classic country ballad.
All of this was written by Nelson, and you presume it was written in this decade. “Ladder Of Love,” though, could have come straight from Sun Studios in about 1958, and the playful feel continues.
“Wrong House” is as fun as you like. A bloke is so high he goes to the wrong house, and let’s be honest, you can’t listen to this without smiling.
“Icarus” is another from the old school, but it’s so catchy you can’t resist it.
The band is in top form. The lead guitar work on “If I Didn’t Love You” is on point, but it’s the keys that make this, while the lovely “Overpass” is so classically American, you can almost hear the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Nelson has spoken of this album being “the perfect setlist,” and like all great gigs, there’s plenty of shade. “Lying” changes the vibe completely. Stripped-down acoustics, confessional, but my God, it’s good, while “All Four Winds” is the very essence of a West Coast summer.
“The View” is back to the acoustic stuff, but it’s so laid back. It’s sitting in a hammock with a day off.
And that’s the point I’ve been trying to make all the way through this. It’s content. “Sticks And Stones” is the sound of someone going, “Yeah, cool, let’s focus on the good stuff.”
Lukas Nelson promises the real, as it were, and reality, you know, it’s alright.
Rating: 9/10
