Eugene Chadbourne – Texas Sessions: Chapter Two (To Doug)
Eugene Chadbourne is not exactly a household name in country circles, alt or otherwise. He’s what you might call a “noise” or “free” guitarist whose vocals often resemble a bray, but he’s been experimenting with country material off and on for decades.
His last album featured songs associated with Ernest Tubb, Willie Nelson, Bob Wills and Doug Sahm, and this time he’s cut half a CD in tribute to Sahm, with the rest being mostly his own originals. Plus, he’s gone one better than previously by using Sahm’s favorite bassist and drummer, Speedy Sparks and Ernie Durawa, plus Austin harmonicat Walter Daniels, in addition to his usual steel player, Susan Alcorn. Chadbourne (and Alcorn) play in styles ranging from fairly conventional to all-over-the-place over the rock-steady rhythm section, even if the music is, obviously, not for everyone. Which is my way of saying you may not be able to stand the insectival guitar lines on his version of Muddy Waters’ “I’m Ready”, or Alcorn’s voodoo atmospherics on “Old Habits Die Hard”, and I’m the first to admit that the eleven-minute-plus banjo ditty “The Sky Got Flatter” could stand some editing.
But look at it this way: Chadbourne makes albums as loose, limber and live-sounding as Sahm did. It’s music purely for the sake of music, buttressed by a gleeful sense of discovery. Much of Sahm’s material — “Old Habits”, the fractured Chicago blues of “You Can’t Hide A Redneck” — is novel without being frivolous, and Chadbourne offers fresh takes on “Cowboy Peyton Place” and “She’s About A Mover” that echo the spirit of the originals.
His own material ain’t bad, either, especially the one-two punch of “The Bottle Labeled Losers”, a jumping country boogie, and “Today’s Gun Permits”, a wispy little folkish banjo thing with ominous verses and a bright singalong chorus. Hey, the guy’s music is a lot of fun, and any true Sahm fan should relate to that.