John Mercy and Pedro Renato
The Immigrant & the Vagabond
(Lux Records)
Between them, the craftsmen whose names loom on the marquee manipulate nearly as many instruments as there are stars illuminating inkiness. Inspiration for desolate common-man tableaus arrived via Chaplin classics dating from 1916 and 1917. Fittingly, musics of that era unfold and sprawl. In some moments, banjo plunking, Glockenspiel, and pianny make comfortably unpretentious accompaniment for bleak poetry. Elsewhere, electronic tools including Wurlitzer, dynamic guitar, and Fender Rhodes Mark 1 animate more contemporary passages. Weathered, profound vocals redouble tales' accessibility. An ambitious undertaking, well realized.
Recommended: "Gambling Man," "Immigrant Song," "She's Dead and Gone," "Bottom Of the Well," "Back There," "Hoodoo Man," "Lost Girl," "Washed-Up Bird," "The Guilt Of a Thousand Years," "There's a Devil In the Woods," "Those Cruel Words," "The Road Ahead"
Video: "Gambling Man" "The Road Ahead"
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