Blue Notes

by

Paul Burch & the WPA Ballclub

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Yes, this recording does grow on you. The first time I heard it, it went right past me, and I feared that I had committed a serious mispurchase. On second hearing the subtle grace, beauty, and originality of Paul Burch's approach started to come through. Burch is clearly in love with country music and its traditions, not just the usual honkytonk but old-time and bluegrass as well; yet he is less a traditional country singer than a postmodern one, fusing deeply felt influences into something new, distinctive, and personal. Much of Blue Notes sounds like an organic hybrid of Hank Williams and Revolver-era Beatles. Not all of it, though. "Long Distance Call" -- not to be confused with the classic Muddy Waters blues of the same name -- is Burch's nod to obscure early rockabilly cats like Onie Wheeler. "How Do I Know?" is a rewriting of, and riff on, the Appalachian folk song "Little Birdie," the sort of thing one can imagine Tom House doing; in fact, House sings a verse, sounding more like Dylan than House. For sheer loveliness, however, it's hard to beat "Tonight, Tonight," with its almost inexpressibly melancholic opening line: "Tonight, tonight I saw the one I'm gonna lose you to." This is a heartbreaker that Hank himself would have been proud to claim.