Pine Valley Cosmonauts – Salute The Majesty Of Bob Wills
The problem with tribute records — well, one problem with tribute records — is consistency. You get a bunch of different acts and maybe they mesh (with the material as well as with each other), but more often they don’t.
This drop-dead fabulous tribute to the late king of Western swing gets around that problem by having the same core group on every track. Mekons/Waco Brothers guitarist Jon Langford is master of ceremonies, augmented by his regular drummer Steve Goulding, ex-Bottle Rocket Tom Ray and a horn section of Poi Dog Pondering members Paul Mertens and Dave Crawford. The variety comes from the different singers, including Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Alejandro Escovedo, Edith Frost and Neko Case.
Salute The Majesty Of Bob Wills works because the consistent backup group creates a more unified feel than on most such tribute records, and also because there’s no deference paid and no one is afraid to let themselves go. It’s difficult to imagine just what Wills would think of Robbie Fulks’ over-the-top braying on “Across The Alley From The Alamo” (on which he sounds as if he’s coming unglued, one verse at a time), but that doesn’t seem to concern any of the participants in the least. Everybody’s too busy pumpin’ away to worry.
Other highlights include Gilmore’s smooth takedown of “Trouble In Mind”, Sally Timms’ sultry “Right Or Wrong”, and the damn near heartstopping Langford/Escovedo duet on “San Antonio Rose”. Since Escovedo is a San Antonio native, that song is as fitting as it is perfect — guaranteed to get the joint hoppin’ at your next house party.
Really, though, there isn’t a bum moment anywhere. Loose-limbed where it has to be yet tight in all the right places, Salute The Majesty Of Bob Wills is more a conjuring than mere homage. And now that swing music is suddenly hot again, the time is ripe for a Bob Wills resurgence. The Pine Valley Cosmonauts seem like just the folks to take Wills to the people.
(Note: A double-album vinyl version is due out Sept. 8; the CD release date is Oct. 6.)