For a Second Time
From the opening volley of “I’m nobody from nowhere you would have heard of anyway,” it’s clear that the sophomore release from one of Nashville’s best bands is determined to deal with the complexities of today’s music business.
DADDY, a joint project by Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack, capitalizes on a gathering of talent that mainstream acts rely upon. The industry’s best session players, songwriters and producers make up this “unknown” superband–call it the underground version of the Traveling Wilburys. Longtime John Prine collaborator Dave Jacques plays bass while wunderkind drummer and producer Paul Griffith lends his talents as well. The album was produced by keyboardist John Deaderick whose piano skills are often found playing with acts like the Dixie Chicks and Michael McDonald. Together, these five guys have more album credits than just about anyone in the business.
Happily, For a Second Time clearly delineates what talented people can do when you skip the confines of mainstream music. With a limited budget and small label support (Cedar Creek Music), the band makes music for one reason: they like doing it.
That joy shows itself in the way they rock and this album has it in bundles. In fact, despite the temptation to label them “alt-country” the record has more in common with music emanating from Memphis than with anything in Nashville. Sure, there’s a country influence, but the record very well could have been made in the heyday of Sun Records or Stax. With outstanding guitar work and perfectly understated keys, the album possesses both a groove and a sharp edge that’s largely missing in most work in this era. There’s even a gospel/soul spector permeates both “The Ballad of Martin Luther King”, “Hardshell Case” and “I Want to be Clean” that features Todd Snider’s somewhat cynical vocals. Wholly, For a Second Time is a satisfying respite from the usual fare and certainly qualifies as “rock n’ by god roll.”
For a Second Time is available on June 16 from Cedar Creek Music.