Straight Ahead… Song list/ descriptions
1. Downright Mean Woman Blues- Original, Recorded live, no overdubs
except for a little tweakin’ on the vocals.. Wanted to have a song that
opens the disc with a bit of fury and clearin’ the air with some good old
blues slide, - but absolutely lets folks know- we’re here to ROCK!!
2. Got My Bidness Straight- Original, - Bobby Keys... Man, that
guy just blows the doors down!!! Of course,- he’s a Texan from Lubbock!!
Good thing I played my solo first- no way I could follow that… Havin’ the
West Side Horns, the original bad boys from SA play behind him was something
I had to go to the mirror, pinch myself and ask dude, is this really
happening? Tommy Shannon on Bass, laying it down like only he can.
Riley Osbourne from Austin plays all the remaining keys on this disc,
and does an awesome performance.
3. Lessons in Lowdown- Original, Same lineup, another kick the doors
down rocker about a barroom brawl that turns into a learning experience for
a fella who should’ve kept his cool, and ends up losin’ his girl to a whole
other guy. Ha ha- now that’s a lesson, all right. Bobby Keys with the West
Side Horns is a definite winning combination of the Texas Sound, I’m sure
you’ll agree..A whole lot of good clean, fun… But it was such a dirty
little lesson…
4. My Country Sugar Mama- By Howlin’ Wolf. I’ve
always loved this song. It’s so blue, yet so joyful and passionate. My
arrangement is different from the original, but the lyrics on the original
touch me the same way. I happen to know that Wolf wasn’t talkin’ about the
girl like she was some rich woman who supported him, but a sweet country
girl come to the city, all of a sudden getting lots of attention with her
beauty..And he’s so glad that she’s his little babe.. I asked Hubert
Sumlin, his guitar player, about it, and he told me so.
5. The Real Good Thing- Original, but originally written by
Rocky Hill (With the help of Jerry Williams) who collaborated with me, and
I came up with the Bridge, a few lines and a verse. Rocky (Dusty Hill’s big
brother) heard my project from a mutual friend, and called me to get
together and jam.. We ended up in the studio, and had a great time cutting
it.. He’s such an incredible, soulful player and slide guitarist. Working
with him is definitely a hallmark of my music life.
6. The Wildcat Shuffle- Original, get after it instrumental
written to to get ‘em partying, drinkin’, and havin fun.. A typical Texas
rockin’ on a Saturday night kind-of-song. “Sonny Boy” Terry from Houston
plays the harp with that great tone of his. Definitely T-birds inspired;
Rex Wherry from Houston does a great job getting that “round sound” on the
bass that gives tribute to the great Keith Ferguson.
7. The Signifyin’ Monkey- by Johnnie and Shuggie Otis, This song
was a lot of fun to cover, doesn’t need a lot of explanation. It’s all right
there. Puttin’ record scratches on some lowdown blues is a little out of the
norm, but man, it sure has a great party effect. It’s my kid’s favorite song,
and by the way, I have a “radio friendly” version that blanks out the few bad
words in it. ( The original is much nastier.) We just received it from the
studio and I’ll send you a copy, if you’d like. Please contact us, & let
me know.
8. Guitars & Motorcycles- Original, I wrote this song thinking
about and specifically for Stevie Ray, who called his main guitar “1st Wife”..
I didn’t think too much of the song at first, because I had a little problem
trying to get the idea, or the hook of the song across, but Tommy Shannon
heard it, liked it , and helped me to get it complete, so he shares credits.
Stevie’s love and devotion to his guitar reminded me of the way some friends
of mine love their scoots, so it was kind of natural to put it together like
that. Double drums, like a big V-twin, really made this song a lot of fun to
record. I think it’s got some great video potential, too.
9. Into Nuthin’’- Original. This was a very natural song to
write, about growing up in South Texas, even though I start it off mentioning
Louisiana. There are some pretty hardcore references to drugs, trouble, an
outlaw life; but it’s not really about any of those things… It’s about staying
OUT of trouble. About getting yourself into nuthin’ that you can’t get out of.
The way the world is today, it’s too bad more people aren’t careful about not
getting themselves, their families, their lives and even a whole nation of
people who follow them into things that they can’t get themselves out of.
10. Gypsy Womanby Muddy Waters. If you’re a fan of Tommy Shannon’s,
then you’ll know that there is absolutely very few bass players that would have
found the right bass part for a song like this, like Tommy does…The way the
vocal extends at its own pace to a longer verse, makes the whole band follow,
in tribute of a tradition set forth by great bluesmen like Lightnin’ Hopkins,
or John Lee Hooker. I styled the adaptation, but only meant to do so in a way
that honors the lyrics so that a big powerhouse band can be applied, so
following this, it styled itself, sort of. It’s a passionately serious,
dark, and intense song that comes from a place in my heart that I absolutely
would not compromise on. It had to be right. Bobby Keys lays down an urgent,
bad to the bone entry solo, & Tommy Dar Dar from Houston is on Harp throughout
the song. West Side Horns kick ass with the big city sound, including the
Chicago-style ending.
11. Timberline- Original, A rockin’ slide song that has an
infectious fast groove, once you get to rockin’ with it. It’s about a guy
who’s crazy about this girl who is hot on the slopes and will do anything
to get to her, including going up the mountain himself for the wild ride of
his life… I wrote it in Colorado, hangin’out with people who love to ski,
knowing that they’re some of the partyin’est people on the planet, and they
don’t have anyone writin’ songs they can jam to for them, So it’s been a lot
of fun to kick ass with. The West Side Horns do an awesome original rockin’
backup that I don’t believe anyone has done with this kind of rock, with two
drummers. Al Gomez’s Trumpet solo is an absolute rock original, and out of
this world. Great song for a video with hot dog skiers.
12. Little Bit- (Traditional) A rocked up version of a blues
classic done similar to a style played by Freddie King.. My idea was to put
an extended Jam at the start, staying in a single key, then roll into the
changes after the vocal starts. This gives Bobby Keys a chance to get some
extra licks in, which he tears up, starting into it with his signature sax
sound. That’s also him on the Big Baritone sax, which he really enjoyed
laying down, and I made sure not to let it get lost in the mix. More of DJ
T-Bone’s record scratches. Great dance number.
13. Shameless & Disrespectful- Original. Acoustic instrumental.
A meditative piece, for a quieter moment. Bluesy, raw, & aptly brief.
14. On A Night Like This- Original. I had no idea there were so
many songs with this same name. None of ‘em are like this, though.
I call it a “Gringo Ranchera”, because it’s a Spanish ballad, but it’s in
English, of course. This song has Michael Guerra, the excellent young
Accordionist who laid a beautiful accordion part in. It’s an acoustic
ballad with a story set in Mexico somewhere way out in the desert where
it’s a world all its own. It’s true Texas, though.
15. Tribute to Lightnin’ and Freddie King- Original. One big
thing I learned from Stevie is how important it is to give it back.
Everyone takes, but it ‘s how you give back that says the most about you.
That’s this song, in a nutshell. First half, I’m thinking about Lightnin’-
and when I say Lightnin, I’m referring to both Lightnin’ Hopkins,
and Lightnin’ Slim, from Louisiana… They both referred to themselves as
Lightnin’, so it seems that’s the best way. Love ‘em both. Big influences
on me. Gary Primich from Austin on harp. I grew up listening to and
worshiping the tone and straight ahead sound of Freddie King. I cut
my teeth on his playing, not trying to copy him, but learning what the
right notes are, and are not. He taught me to really love the sound,
and let it love me back. I just let my guitar talk, as free as I could
possibly let it. Feels damn natural to try and do my best, to give it
back to all my heroes, who have given me so much….
This site updated last 01-27-07
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