From the Boise Weekly (10/10/07)
author: Curt Nichols
When I first picked up the latest Scotland Barr CD, my reaction was ‘what’s not to like?’ A band named Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags, an album titled Legionnaires Disease, and a promotional note touting ‘Alt-Country from Portland, OR.’ All three got my attention.
Later, listening to the CD, I found even more to like. This album opens with the title track, “Legionnaire Disease”, featuring a lonesome pedal steel. After an impressive instrumental opening, Scotland Barr’s gravelly voice joins the mix.
The mix of warm instruments with worn vocals is an alt-country standard. I could tell right away that Scotland Barr has that formula down pat. However, you need more than a gruff-voiced lead singer and quality instrumentals to make truly great music.
Barr’s lyrics show that he’s a songwriter wise beyond his years. “Bruised Tattoo” starts with the lines, “I’ve got knots on the floor / Beneath the knots in my back / I’ll work ‘til I’m sixty / I’ll die of a heart attack.” In “A Woman’s Way” Barr laments a lost love singing, “I guess she left me a year ago / Here I am just finding out today / Well I never heard her leaving / But she always had a soft and gentle way.”
Another song, “5 Years in Nashville”, is the story of a musician trying to make it to Nashville. The song ends with a bittersweet lament following a barroom fight, “For that violation I got five years probation / No fighting, no crossing state lines / Well, they say it takes five years to make it in Nashville / Guess I have plenty of time.”
Behind the lyrics, the Slow Drags superbly blend their instruments and harmony vocals into memorable tunes. What’s not to like about Scotland Barr? Nothing. Legionnaires Disease comes highly recommended from this reviewer.
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Buy or DIE!
author: Miss N.Nucci
True roots rock 'n' rrroooooll... Take an international journey through the Pacific grown eyes & hearts of this eclectic band. Feel how they have wound their musical vines around threads of magical carpets of sound in the heartland of the western USA. & "No", it's not just because I'm related. I really love it & will be passing it along & buying a copy or two for gifts! xoxoxoxo
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