Bill Kirchen - Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Bill KirchenEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-01-30
Music Label: Proper Records Us
Soundtracks:
- Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods
- Rocks into Sand
- Get a Little Goner
- Skid Row in My Mind
- Working Man
- Soul Cruisin'
- Truth Be Told
- Devil with the Blue Dress
- One More Day
- Heart of Gold
- If It's Really Got to Be This Way
Free Music Notes for Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods
Free Music Review: Highly recommended
Hit: 5 Stars
Excellent recording featuring a broader variety of styles than previous efforts while retaining Kirchen's wit and of course superb guitar work. Production seems smoother, kudos to Nick Lowe, who has been featured with Kirchen backing Elvis Costello on a number of recent performances.
Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods Poster
Bill Kirchen has become widely known for the trademark big-rig guitar riffs that powered the Commander Cody hit "Hot Rod Lincoln" into the Top 10 in 1972. Since 1993, he has recorded seven critically acclaimed albums of his own that have made him one of the musical elder statesmen of today's Americana music, which in truth was pioneered by acts like Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen back in the `70s.For his new album, Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods on Proper Records, Kirchen puts the accent on songwriting, a talent that is sometimes overshadowed by his dazzling instrumental virtuosity. "I felt it was time to write some songs that cut closer to the bone," he says. And on such moving numbers as "Rocks Into Sand" and "One More Day," he succeeds admirably. All told, Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods is the culmination of one very rich American musical life.
On Hammer, the man known as "The King of Dieselbilly" and "A Titan of the Telecaster" visits most every sonic landmark along the proverbial Route 66 of American music that he's traveled for decades now as a player, songwriter and singer, and serves up a blue-plate special of such tasty and nourishing stylistic flavors as rock `n' roll, honky-tonk, soul, rockabilly, Western swing, country, blues, boogie-woogie and more. The set captures the essence of Kirchen as "a devastating culmination of the elegant and funky," as he's described by his longtime friend and compatriot Nick Lowe, one of the noted musicians who plays on Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods.
All it takes is a spin of Hammer of the Honky-Tonk Gods or a night with Bill Kirchen as he tears the roof off any place he appears to agree with what the Austin American-Statesman says: "Bill Kirchen rules. It's just that simple."
From his pivotal role in Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen--retrospectively recognized as a seminal alt-country band--through his solo career and sideman stints with the likes of Nick Lowe, guitarist Bill Kirchen has primarily been recognized as a master of the high-octane Telecaster. This release serves as a change of pace, as Kirchen puts the hot licks on the back burner while showcasing his songwriting chops and range as a vocal interpreter. After the hard-twanging title track provides a hymn to Kirchen's instrument of choice, he turns soulful and spiritual with "Rocks into Sand," shows a populist's social conscience on "Working Man," delivers a version of "Devil with the Blue Dress" that is closer to Shorty Long's R&B original than to Mitch Ryder's rock revival, and ends with a steel-guitar-laced transformation of soul legend Arthur Alexander's "If It's Really Got to Be This Way." The arrangements tend toward stripped-down intimacy, with former bandmates Lowe and Geraint Watkins and labelmates the Hacienda Brothers among those providing support. --Don McLeese
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