“Is it any wonder on a Sunday soon I see the light?” The troupers who brought Hank’s Ramblin’ Man barging gleefully into the 21st century have returned with a Frank&NancySinatra sultry love lesson blasting directly 40 years into now. Don’t get me wrong, this is not an old song, but it has the SomethingStupid melodic appeal of 1968 while maintaining 2008 production values. “Tell me baby, tell me pretty lies. See the spider, been out catching flies.” Scrumptious stuff, this. Chocolate chips melted over fried tortillas with a few marshmallows and raisins. The shout-out tune, Who Built The Road, is just as much fun. The duet sings of “the devil at my side, dark angel within the everlasting fire” with beautiful gleeful la-la’s on the path. We never really find out who built the road, but then, that isn’t always the point, is it? There’s a path to be followed, whether we are pilgrims or followers. The question, of course, is what is at the end of the road. FYI the new US release includes the import EP in its entirety, so we are getting a double deal here for being patient.
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan