Outlaw country star Ted Russell Kamp takes aim with his latest solo album

Ted Russell Kamp is no stranger to astute No Depression readers. Although best known for his role as bass player in outlaw country-rock band Shooter Jennings and the 357’s, Ted Russell Kamp has also established himself as a songwriting and solo artist worthy of note. His previous effort 2007 album “Divisadero” notched an impressive top 40 americana music chart appearance and was given well deserved praise in the March 2007 ND issue by reviewer Michael Berick. The latest release “Poor Man’s Paradise” from Ted Russell Kamp continues the dixieland-meets-blues-meets-country musical theme but this time around adds a much heavier dash of memphis R&B in the style of ’60’s Stax Records artists.

Ranging from the mid tempo roadhouse ballad “Just a Yesterday Away” to the country blues shuffle of “Dixie” the entire album showcases it’s southern fried ingredients at every turn. Of course, every album generally has it’s standout tracks and for me it’s “Old Folks Blues” and “Never Gonna Do You Wrong” each with the classic Stax records style horn section enhanced choruses. The final album track “Player Piano” along with the ballad title track showcases Ted Russell Kamp’s emotion laden keyboard playing and his gift of painting a picture with his lyrics. Add a pinch of steel guitar courtesy of former Waylon Jennings band member Robbie Turner to rev up the twang factor and you have an album that although mixed from ingredients not normally combined together ends up making for a fine stew all the same.

Feel free to stream a few songs from Ted’s Myspace site: www.myspace.com/tedrussellkamp

As an added bonus, check out the exclusive of TRK’s country-fied version of the Gnarls Barkley neo-classic “Crazy” – enjoy!