Mark Ford- WEARY AND WIRED

Описание

Marc Ford- WEARY AND WIRED- CD- 2007- Provogue Records/Irond Ltd.- No UPC- 150 grn
WEARY AND WIRED is the second album by guitarist and singer-songwriter Marc Ford. The album was released on 27th March 2007. The ex-Black Crowes guitarist's first solo album in five years is far more wired than weary, which is certainly a good thing. Rejoining musicians from his pre-Crows years in the band Burning Tree, Ford strips down to a basic trio format, although one loose enough to allow horns, keyboards, and background singers to flesh out the sound as needed. The opening sounds like '70s-era Stones, just over three minutes of gnarly chords meshed with tough maracas and piano driving the trashy overdubbed guitars. The disc then shifts to a Southern rock-blues sensibility combined with a substantial Neil Young influence. "Greazy Chicken" lays on the funk with horns and B-3 slathered over the slow-boil swampy instrumental and Ford's wah-wah pedal and slide in full flower. The similarly styled "The Big Callback" closes the disc. Things calm down for a few mid-album ballads. Marc Ford rearranges Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing" into a lengthy, ominous showstopper, somewhat similar to the music his friends in Gov't Mule are known for. The diverse styles on the album are threaded together by Ford's meaty guitar lines. Ford acquits himself as a frills-free guitarist with more chops than imagination and a whole lotta passion. At over an hour, the disc runs a little long, but there is enough quality material played with fire and enthusiasm to justify Ford stepping back into the spotlight. One hopes he doesn't wait another five years for the follow-up.
PERSONNEL: Marc Ford – vocals, guitars, backing vocals; Muddy (a.k.a. Mark Dutton) — bass guitar, backing vocals; Doni Gray – drums, backing vocals; Elijah Ford – bass guitar, 2nd guitar, backing vocals; Mike Malone – Hammond organ, piano; Afton – organ; Aaron West – saxophone; Will Artope – trumpet; Chris Lizotte, Kirsten Ford, Scott Owen, Joel Owen - background vocals.
Marc Ford sold millions of albums and played in front of millions more. Coming with the success are the accolades, along with the typical excessive indulgences. For Ford, this is an issue he’s recently confronted, but at a price. In September 2006, the guitarist tendered his resignation from The Black Crowes for reasons of sanity and sobriety. Then he gathered up his former band mates from Burning Tree. Together, they patched together Ford’s second solo effort, WEARY AND WIRED. Marc Ford may have given up the drink and dope, but his playing and performance on this ragged and fun-filled collection is loose and very much on the mark. “Featherweight Dreamland” is a raunchy opener that showcases Ford’s ample slide guitar work and serviceable, echo-laden vocals. The table is set and the momentum sustained for “Don’t Come Around” and “It’ll Be Over Soon”, a pair of no frills, straight-ahead rockers. “The Other Side” almost sounds like a candidate for The Black Crowes’ next album, but Ford ably makes it all his own as he tip toes through the verses before slamming a signature lead. “1000 Ways” kicks it up a notch with a tag-you’re-it rhythm supplemented wiht a Cream feel. Then he assumes a Neil Young And Crazy Horse posture for “Smoke Signals” and all bets are off. The sultry jazz horns that introduce “Greazy Chicken” take the record into yet another direction. By the time we get to the ebb and flow of “Currents”, the rude attitude of “Just Take The Money”, the tribal stomp of “Medicine Time”, the rockabilly swing of “Bye Bye Suzy”, and the woozy jazzamatazz of “The Big Callback”, it’s clear that Ford is a renaissance man for all the right reasons. Marc Ford has crafted WEARY AND WIRED on the notion few artists ever get a chance to claim: a commitment to the art of rock and roll and beyond.
Comes In A Standard Jewel Case With Clear Tray Includes Foldout Inlay.
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