In the course of my proper job I once asked a German lady that we were working with how come she could speak such good English when the actual English were so parochial that we can barely speak English ourselves (a friend reckons being a Brummie I should come with subtitles and to be fair, that’s probably right).
Her answer was simple: “popular culture.”
Music, she said, and films were generally from the US or UK and that was that.
Listening to The Steel Woods, you do sort of understand her point, too. I am from the Middle of England – hence why I sound like Ozzy Osbourne’s dimmer brother when I talk – not Middle America, and yet, the Stories of bands like Skynyrd, The Kentucky Headhunters, Elvis, and more latterly Blackberry Smoke and the rest resonate with me.
“Old News” is the second album from these boys from Nashville, Tennessee, and if that flies in the face of those that say the album is dead and we’re all uncapable of listening to above three songs, then that is reflected in the old school feel of the tracks here.
Try listening to the opening riff of “All Of These Years” without recalling all the bands it sounds like. That’s the point, really. The wheel doesn’t need inventing. It rolls just fine, and so do these tracks.
Coupled with this, in fairness the lyrics aren’t ground-breaking. “Without You” is a rallying call to not dwell on a situation. “Listen, you gotta bury that dream…..you better get on with your life before life gets on without you….” Sings Wes Bayliss – and honestly, you can’t imagine Bayliss having any other job than being the singer in a southern rock band, so perfect is he.
Last years debut record from TSW was a varied affair, but on this one they’ve really let it all go. “Changes” is soul-filled rather like JJ Grey, while “Wherever You Are” is like one of those big old ballads that Cadillac Three sell buy the bucket load but best of all – probably – is the brilliant Black Crowes style groover, “Blind Lover” – a simple plea for unity, but crikey, it’s done well.
“Compared To A Soul” is another Lynyrd Skynyrd would be immensely proud of, the title track could be interpreted as a political statement – “I hate to think that thinking is Old News” offers Bayliss passionately. A word here too for guitarist Jason Cope, who is in stunning form throughout, but his slide solo is perfect on this.
Like the troubadours of yore, try and tie these boys down if you can. “Anna Lee” is country flavoured, but they rather niftily follow this up with one in “Red River (The Fall Of Jimmy Sutherland)” which although instrumental, is the heaviest thing they have – and it segues very nicely indeed into a stomper in “The Catfish Song” that is as timeless as it is brilliant – you can almost hear Blackberry Smoke giving it a collective: “damn, boy…..” as the harmonica lick kicks in.
The originals end with another stunner. “The Rock That Says My Name” is epic, and has a real Steve Earle flourish about its work, but this is a record that isn’t anywhere done.
On their debut they had a cover of “Changes” by Sabbath (who share a hometown with me, we invented heavy metal five miles from where I live…..) “Old News” honours four that are no longer with us.
But there is a real skill here that they don’t just copy Wayne Mills’ “One Of These Days”, Merle Haggard’s “Are The Good Times Really Over (I Wish A Buck Was Still Silver)” Gregg Allman’s “Whipping Post” – and they turn this one into something almost Doors-like – and Tom Petty’s “Southern Accents”. Instead, they honour their heroes, and in so doing, they ensure the music continues to inspire.
The interesting thing, though, is that even though those covers are personal to them, what they represent shines like a beacon for us all. This is – like English it seems – a universal language. This is not just The Steel Woods story, it belongs to everyone that has ever loved southern rock n roll. It is “Old News” to make the headlines in 2019.
Rating 9/10
