Greg Trooper – Make It Through This World
For his eighth album, Greg Trooper has turned his folk blues into folk soul, southern-fried at that, with his Nashville-by-way-of-Jersey singer-songwriter sensibilities given gasping new depth thanks largely to the production of Dan Penn. It’s a funny place to find electric guitar whiz Bill Kirchen, but Kirchen’s tasteful plucking fits perfectly on the river of chords pumped out by Kevin McKendree’s Hammond, Wurlitzer, Farfisa and Rhodes organs.
As good as the musicians and producer are, the real strengths are Trooper’s writing and vocals. With skillful arrangements and soulful crooning, Trooper keeps things upbeat despite mournful premises. “Sad, Sad Girl” stays buoyant on a bright dobro lick by Steve Fishell; “Green Eyed Girl” marches along on second-line rhythm and a bubbling keyboard to tell its tale of disappointment.
Trooper’s lyrical manner is poignant — “I just need some time to shake off half a century” (from “Dream Away The Blues”) — and his singing is patient and evocative, particularly on “Close To The Tracks”, a song of woe about poverty caused by lost love, and “When I Think of You My Friends”, a joyous litany song — “hackers, slackers, sixteen trackers, someone pass the Telecaster” — punctuated by Kirchen’s deft solo.
Trooper, who has dabbled in keyboard-driven blue-eyed soul previously, seems to have finally found the genre, studio band and producer he’s been seeking.