![]() ![]() Ooops! Let’s say fighting battles like that may be genetic! then a day or so ago I turned the volume up when Mrs Magpie was in the car “Who does this remind you of?” I asked, expecting my brother’s name to be the response only for her to raise her eyebrows and sigh, “You?” While the first person I thought of when I played this song I was whisked back to memories of my eldest brother Norman who it could have been about …. This particular song is as good as anything on his first two albums with Slaid singing from the point of view of a regular in the bar who has grown old without really noticing it and occasionally steps in to situations without realising he’s not the young man he used to be but when it all comes down his heart tells him that he still has ‘a Punchers Chance’ when it comes to dealing with anyone messing with the working girls or card sharps. ![]() By now I’m sure either Slaid or I could create a whole album of his Barfly Stories and if we did it should be #1 on the Rolling Stone charts. Now, those who know me won’t be in the least surprised that Puncher’s Chance is my #1 Favourite Song here. There’s a really special song tucked away in the middle the story in Double Shift Tuesday is a-typical Slaid Cleaves but the construction and salty arrangement plus ‘angelic harmonies’ goes an extra length with several left turns before the poignant closure.ĭo you know what that’s not even the best song here and while I love it especially the haunting harmonica solo it only comes in at #3 in the RMHQ Favourite Song stakes!Īt #2 is Terlinguo Chilli Queen a full-on band effort for another tale of Smalltown America and the ‘broken dreams’ therein …… and more importantly a slightly different avenue for Slaid to mine and when he does he finds solid gold! ![]() we will all know a ‘Sparrow’ in one way or another and in Next Heartbreak he deals with the death of a brother in a touching yet spellbindingly clear fashion that again will make us all think of someone close we’ve lost in recent years which is why Cleaves is one of our most important living songwriters.Ī quick Google shows that Arnold Nash was a real person from Cleave’s home town in Maine and this dark yet charming tale about a lost soul who becomes a minor criminal in and out of jail, who finally commits a major crime is told from the point of view of a school friend who goes on to become the Sherriff of their home town and is constantly obliged to keep chasing him and arresting him ĪHA! Think of a 21st Century Poncho & Lefty …… seriously, it’s as intricate and clever as that Classic Song and will be just as memorable. While the songwriting can be quite intense at times especially the older Cleaves gets you rarely have to wait long to ‘get’ where he’s coming from in his stories Sparrow, by example can and will be interpreted differently by everyone who hears it …. Put the Shovel Down and the beautiful and stark At Christmastime spring to mind here but it probably applies to most every other song in his catalogue too. Perhaps it’s because he has such a richly distinctive voice and style of songwriting but I’ve never thought it before and I’ve never read anyone else mention it but there’s always been more than a nod in the direction of Townes and Guy in the way Cleaves constructs his songs and the observations he he sings about in the powerful Second Hand or Nature’s Darker Laws owe more to that cabal of songwriters than they do anyone else.Īlongside his Best Friend Rod Picott I adore the way these two sing in the first person recounting stories from their own lives or observations they make on their travels around the world. There’s no real surprise that Slaid still inhabits a ‘blue collar everyman’ in what can only be described as modern Folk Tales albeit with Country tinged Americana sensibility and he does it with sheer class, right from opening song Through The Dark to album closer the gentle and thought provoking Make Your Own Light. So can a new album of his bring anything new to the party and will his new songs tickle my heartstrings anymore? Subsequently I’ve reviewed 5 of his albums and seen him play live as much or more than most anyone else this century. I rushed out that Saturday to buy his album BROKE DOWN. I’ve been a fan of Slaid Cleaves ever since his ‘signature song’ Horseshoe Lounge appeared on an UNCUT Magazine VA album called MORE SOUNDS OF THE NEW WEST in 2000 …. ![]()
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