Webb Wilder

Mississippi Moderne

2015-11-05

Webb Wilder hails from Nashville these days. That doesn’t mean though that this is a country disc (or faux country as the case may be). Indeed, while Wilder may inhabit the geography of Nashville this disc is firmly informed by such disparate non-music row influences as the Kinks, "I Gotta Move", Otis Rush, "It Takes Time", Frankie Lee Sims, "Lucy Mae Blues" and Jimmy Reed, "I’m Gonna Get My Baby". Even though Wilder does give nods to such country icons as Conway Twitty, "Lonely Blue Boy", and Charlie Rich, "Who Will the Next Fool Be?", his readings of the cuts is far from slavishly reverent and he seems more in tune with English rocker Nick Lowe in terms of not only his vocals on "Rough and Tumble Guy" and "I’m Not Just Anybody’s Fool" but his turn of a phrase as on "Too Much Sugar For A Nickel" where he ruminates on things that are just too good to be true. He is also pretty fond of garage rock as revealed on the grungy "Yard Dog" which could just as easily come from a Barrence Whitfield and the Savages release. "Only a Fool" which Wilder co-wrote with the legendary Dan Penn is a soulful gem that will have people checking the liner notes to see if it is a long lost Roy Orbison outtake. The disc ends on a blues note with "Stones in My Pathway" which starts as a raw acapella number before the rhythm section kicks in and takes it into Mississippi hill country. Smitty

review by Mark