Rough and Road Ready, 3 Out of 5 Stars
Ryan Bingham is not some faux rodeo clown with a stetson and western shirt. He picked up guitar as a teen-aged ranch hand and once he'd worked up a batch of songs, hit the Texas rodeo circuit, often sleeping in the back of his truck when better sofas weren't available. The rough and road weary tone of his second album, "Roadhouse Sun," spares no quarter and minces no words. He takes one of his catchiest songs, "Dylan's Hard Rain," and blows any chance of radio-play by dropping a mother-f-bomb in the middle of it. He derisively snorts in his tear-down on 21'st century politics;
"And down in Tijuana people are growing tubloads of marijuana.
Maybe some day our friends will be American Farmers."
While Ryan makes his label home on Lost Highway, his take on American Roots music hews closer to Springsteen's Devils & Dust or Steve Earle's Washington Square Serenade than Willie or Merle. The CD closer, "Wishing Well," is the kind of southern rock The Black Crowes can whip up on a regular basis. (Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford is "Roadhouse Sun's" producer.) There's still plenty of roadhouse to be found here, whether it is the stomp of "Hey Hey Hurray" or the straight up country of "Tell Mama I Miss Her So."
On the other hand, "Roadhouse Sun" still doesn't feel like Bingham's got his whole scope under control, bringing to mind another Americana Ryan, one Ryan Adams. It took Adams several albums before he could lasso all his muses into a coherent entity, and "Roadhouse Sun" gives me somewhat the same impression. Bingham offers plenty to like with lots of promise - and his band, The Dead Horses, sure make a convincing backup racket - making Ryan Bingham an artist to watch.
Recommended for fans of :
Steve Earle
James McMurtry
Springsteen's Nebraska
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