Marti Brom & Her Jet Tone Boys – Mean
Marti Brom has for many years been one of Austin’s better-hidden secrets. She has chosen to put her family before her music and has only recently started to play locally for the first time in several years. But she has not been totally quiet during that time. In 1995 she released a 45 and a cassette, and she has also appeared on several compilations, including True Sounds Of The New West on Freedom Records.
This time she serves up a boxed set of four 45s and a CD containing the same eight tracks. On the 45s they’re in mono and on the CD in stereo, so you don’t have to choose. The eight tracks include six originals, four penned by Brom and two by Teri Joyce, a fine performer in her own right who is also one of Ted Roddy’s Tearjoint Troubadours. (The two covers are the Cochran Brothers’ “Latch On” and the title track, by Tom T. Hall.)
Most of the songs fit in a landscape populated by the likes of Wanda Jackson and the rocking side of Patsy Cline. “Wicked White Lies”, however, is a honky-tonk ballad performed with a quiet intensity. Another standout is “Unproclaimed Love”, a “murder-billy” song from the perspective of the murdered and with more than a passing resemblance to “Rocky Top” (not too close for comfort though). The tune helps provide variety to the compilation and also features some fine fiddle work by Amy Tiven.
The Jet Tone Boys feature some of Austin’s leading rockabilly musicians. Kevin Smith, formerly of High Noon and now slappin’ with 8-1/2 Souvenirs, handles bass, while Shaun Young, High Noon’s former frontman, is the drummer, a position he also holds with the Jive Bombers. The guy providing the Jet Tone Boys with their distinct sound, however, is Todd Wulfmeyer. His clean picking style is definitely rockabilly but also unique. The set was produced by Brent Wilson, whose has played with Teddy & The Talltops, the Wagoneers and Monte Warden, and who also provides rhythm guitar on selected tracks.