Elaine Summers – Transplanting
Elaine Summers is a backing vocalist, rhythm guitarist and percussionist with Pete Droge’s band, the Sinners. On Transplanting, Summers moves to the center, with Droge as sideman and producer.
Singer-songwriter groove-rock influenced by the ’70s is Droge’s primary terrain, and Summers works much the same turf on Transplanting, though often dialing back to the ’60s for inspiration. A lighthearted throwback mood is advertised up-front, with a retro-styled album cover featuring a stamp at the upper left declaring this a “Dual Dynamic Stereo-Orthochromatic High Fidelity Recording.” And the songs are presented as two sides (five songs each, naturally). These visuals set the mood for what the ears will find: blasts of late-Beatles jamming, touches of Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan, and a wall-of-sound Troggs cover.
An album full of this kind of nostalgia can be tough to pull off: A song that fades out, then back in (still rocking!) either has you smiling or groaning. Fortunately, Summers and Droge keep the scenery interesting with quirky noises, funky percussion and unvarnished guitar wrapped in a loose-and-live-sounding production that clips right along.
The versatile duo handle much of the playing on Transplanting, juggling electric and acoustic guitars, bass, drums, a B3 organ, accordion and harmonica. Four other musicians, including session guitarist Jeff Trott (originally of Wire Train, now with Sheryl Crow, and a onetime member of Droge’s band) and drummer John Hollis Fleischman, do spot duty.
Summers has a soulful voice similar to Crow’s and writes in a linear, narrative style. What’s striking about Transplanting is the often sober themes that ride atop the upbeat, sometimes goofy arrangements. On the opening groove-rock of “The Real Low Down”, Summers alternates disdain with regret for a loved one who has strayed into sad, low life: “So cast your conscience to the wind and kiss goodbye another friend/Like pocket change that you just gave away.” Then it’s into the funky fun of “Ain’t No Way”, which again reveals a darker lyrical side as Summers examines the despair and danger found on that low path of the previous song, asking her friend, “Are you uncomfortable sleeping in your bed without leaving on the light?”
Droge’s vocals on Transplanting are mostly confined to choruses but bubble up effectively alongside Summers on the compelling ballad “Fly” and the standout “Gone To Stay”. In the hypnotic wanderlust of the latter tune, Summers is conflicted in her yearning: “I know it’s wrong, but I wish it were tomorrow today,” she sings, as Droge’s nifty guitar work climbs into a “Let It Be”-style jam at the end.
Transplanting is occasionally sidetracked by weak material, which is nagging on a record that tracks only 38 minutes. “Witness” is half-baked filler dirge. And Summers seems to echo Crow’s style too directly on two songs, “Laugh” (“Leaving Las Vegas”) and “To Be Mine” (“Strong Enough”).
Summers brightens up on the Troggs’ “Our Love Will Still Be There”, circa 1966, rendered here with girl-group vocal treatment crossed with buzzing guitar and beeping organ. And the friendly “Tell Me About It” wraps up the record with another loose Beatles jam along the lines of “Get Back”.