Son of the Founder of Cat Mother & the All-Night Newsboys Cooks…
There’s roots music that is rural, rustic and filled with the dewy moldy smell of moss and rivers. Then there’s roots music that is steeped in its original tradition but, highly polished yet, it retains the spirit of the dirt and moonshine. Silas Lowe has managed to take an old-time music approach and shave off the whiskers and pour some tonic on its hair and present it with Americana sophistication.
Silas Lowe — son of Roy Michaels – who was a co-founder, bass guitarist and vocalist of perhaps the only band to be produced by Jimi Hendrix (“The Street Giveth and the Street taketh Away”): the late 60’s band Cat Mother and the All-Night News Boys – whose dynamic instrumental “Track In A” was widely played in New York FM circles became somewhat of a classic. They also had a hit with “Good Old Rock and Roll” — which cracked the top 50 when the term “rock and roll” was seldom applied — because by this point it had succumed to the singular “rock.” The band was also credited with being one of the first to blend country music with rock successfully. All together Cat Mother released four albums and performed up until 1977. Oh, did I mention Jimi Hendrix produced one of their albums?
With his solo album “Wandering Father, Forgotten Son,” Silas offers a heartfelt ode to his dad with this fine roots-Americana-country album.
Father and son, after decades apart, reunited in Austin, Texas – according to the press release – and rebuilt their relationship until his dad’s passing in 2008.
They managed to share some music and collaborate on this collection where six songs are written by Silas and six unearthed Roy Michaels’ songs share space. With the help of producer-fiddler Ben Sanders the songs develop sweetly and powerfully.
“Ode to Oregon,” – two different versions detected: the version played on Soundcloud is an infectious piano / acoustic guitar driven tune and is included here. However, on the CD it features a nice sustained accordion instead with a beautiful mandolin, banjo and fiddle stitched to its seams with an absolutely great cornet solo by Oliver Steck. The tune unravels like a morning rose. I like the CD version best. This one was written by his father Roy and it’s a jewel. Silas’ vocals are gravelly and furrowed into a classic Americana style.
The next song is more upbeat – “About a Dying Father” – which is sung with enthusiasim and along with a confident Jenn Miori Hodges backing, Silas provides smooth country root richness. Ignoring a country song like this on commercial country radio would be sinful and it probably will be because country music radio is just not — educated. Expert acoustic guitar and instrumentation brightens the entire song throughout.
Deeper, more somber is “Burning Bride,” and this, as well, features some duet singing with Jenn and the combination of her sweet vocals and Silas’ early-Levon Helm style singing creates a real authentic mood as the mandolin is strummed, the fiddle paints a pressed dried flower aged ambience into each note. This is comforting stuff. This song could have easily been performed by The Band – it has that kind of genuine validation.
Some tunes are a little too Appalachian for this New York bred writer’s ears. But, I must admit the musicians are accomplished and capable. There is an audience for this music but, it’s not going to burn up the charts. If Silas Lowe has a showcase – I am sure his live performance would be fiery and exciting. The music is down home at times, burns some barns at times, and is most importantly, poignant and heartfelt. The effort is obvious.
Another Roy Michaels’ song is “Angel’s Devil,” and it sounds like vintage Cat Mother and the All-Night Newsboys. Nice deep cello, accurate acoustics and a sincere Silas Lowe vocal that fills the shot glasses with whiskey, lights the big cigars, spins the ceiling fans faster and scuffs the hard wood floors.
With “Edge of the World,” another Michaels’’ original, it has a little of a Beat Generation reading crossed with country inflections. Interesting backing vocals, deep, very deep upright bass notes in a jazzy fashion. This could be played in a barn in Virginia late at night between jugs of cider or in a Greenwich Village poetry meeting with music and cappucino. I give them credit for pushing the envelope…but, if it’s a Roy Michaels song and he was with Cat Mother – then it needs no explaining. They always made up their own musical rules…it’s probably one of the reasons Jimi Hendrix was interested in producing them. Silas Lowe? The acorn doesn’t fall too far from the tree.
Death is the poor people’s doctor,” is what I believe is said — follows and while the song (“Poor People’s Doctor”) is simply a standard well-written song, it’s lines like that which are clever and righteous and allow musicians like Silas Lowe to tread the outside fringes of commercial music. I like this approach, it shows that this kind of traditional music can still provide curious ears with some creativity and originality. For music like this to survive into the 21st Century is a miracle. People like Silas Lowe insure its quality and sustainability.
Nice solid fiddle playing and banjo open “Rachel Corrie,” and this is planted solid in the ground of bands like Seatrain, Goose Creek Symphony, Hot Tuna, The Fifth Avenue Band, John Hartford, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Prairie Oyster. This has a nice traditional ring, a beauty to it, and Silas’ vocals are indeed on a high and lonesome tract. Silas Lowe would have been able to contribute to a soundtrack like the Coen Brothers classic “Oh, Brother…” and he could have conributed to the live concert known as “Down from the Mountain,” where all of the most traditional mountain performers played brilliantly. I would like to see Silas perform with both Alison Krauss and Iris Dement at some point.
The last song appropriately is another written by Silas’ dad Roy Michaels – “Memphis,” and it reeks of the brilliance that was Cat Mother both in mood and arrangement. This one has one of Silas’ finest vocals. It struts along nicely and though it sounds like something that needed to be dusted off – the quality is there in spades. Like discovering a Bugatti in some Georgia garage with a clutter of Brillo boxes, dust, carpets and newspapers covering its fine body. Ah…but, once you remove the clutter and shine up the machine – it sings. This is a great little song, probably ideal for late night disc jockeys.
My suggestion: give Silas Lowe a spin on your system and then if you’re lucky enough to have some Cat Mother — segue into one of the Cat Mother albums – start with “Track in A” — that always sets the mood perfectly. This is a continuation of a wonderful tradition and music. And Silas Lowe certainly shows enormous promise and it’s a worthy addition to the respectful musical legacy of his dad.
Silas can be proud of that and it shows up in his own work and it’s good….no, it’s very good.
The twelve track CD was produced by multi-instrumentalist Ben Sanders who played many instruments throughout this album and it was recorded in Austin, Texas. Where else?
Website: http://www.silaslowe.com/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/silaslowemusic
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/silaslowemusic
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this review / commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of No Depression. All photography is owned by the respective photographers and is their copyrighted image; credited where photographer’s name was known & being used here solely as reference and will be removed on request. YouTube images are standard YouTube license.
John Apice / No Depression / March 2017