Reckless Kelly – Wicked Twisted Road
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Posted On March 1, 2005
Brothers Willy and Cody Braun relocated from Oregon to Austin to escape the flannel shirts of the grunge crowd and commingle with like-minded purveyors of the country-rock sound in Texas. That was 1997, and after eight years and four albums, the brothers have hit their stride.
This collection was recorded in Tennessee, but its far from an attempt at selling out to Nashville. They do good work there, and their last one, 2003s Under The Table And Above The Sun, was also recorded in Music City with fine results.
Wicked Twisted Road is Reckless Kellys most polished, professional effort yet, filled with exciting tunes, daring lyrics and crunchy riffs you cant wait to hear live. It helps to have Ray Kennedy in the producers seat again (he also did Under The Table), but the real strength is Willy Brauns songwriting.
The band takes its time to warm up, with a couple of sterling acoustic-based reflections on where theyve been and where theyre going. By the fifth track, Motel Cowboy Show, they start to gallop, with Codys fiddle blazing and Willy and David Abeytas guitars jamming. Sixgun, featuring a nasty slide guitar by Abeyta and a furious climax, and Nobody Haunts Me Like You, with truly menacing lyrical imagery, add a sinister aspect the other songs dont even try to belie. Its beer-drinkin country blues rock, guaranteed to make you feel good about your ornery mood.
