Meat Purveyors – All Relationships Are Doomed To Fail

Some three years after More Songs About Buildings And Cows, the Meat Purveyors return with a disc that could be called More Songs About Drinking And Heartache. The actual title, however, does characterize the album quite accurately, as the songs here are rife with doomed relationships.

The opening track “Hey Little Sister”, a powerful offer of help to someone in an abusive relationship, is followed by such love-gone-wrong songs as the alcohol-fueled romantic obsession ode “Thinking About Drinking” and the wonderful open-wound country weeper “Dues”. Mandolinist Pete Stiles and guitarist Bill Anderson team up with fiddler Darcie Deaville to whip up high-energy acoustic music; “Truckers Speed” races along at a revved-up bluegrass pace. Singer Jo Walston’s feisty twang conveys an air of sadness while never sounding weak, and her harmonizing with bassist Cherilyn diMond is another group strength.

Long known for their unlikely covers, the Purveyors reinvent Abba’s “S.O.S”. and Ratt’s “Round And Round” as bluegrass numbers; their ragged but right rendition of the latter tune particularly impresses. The originals also contain a number of gems: “2:00 A.M”. is a classic country drinking tune, while the funny/sad “Circus Clown” stands as one of the band’s best.