Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses - Roadhouse Sun Review
Posted by C.A. Bell on 07.18.2009
The sophomore effort from an ex-bull rider proves entertaining, but does he live up to the hype of being the next Bob Dylan or Tom Waits?
Track Listing:
1. Day Is Done – (Bingham) 4:25
2. Dylan’s Hard Rain – (Bingham) 4:33
3. Tell My Mother I Miss Her So – (Bingham) 3:45
4. Country Roads – (Bingham) 3:47
5. Bluebird – (Bingham) 5:03
6. Snake Eyes – (Bingham) 4:39
7. Endless Ways – (Bingham) 3:55
8. Change Is – (Bingham) 7:19
9. Rollin’ Highway Blues – (Bingham) 3:50
10. Hey Hey Hurray – (Bingham) 3:13
11. Roadhouse Blues – (Bingham) 3:30
12. Wishing Well – (Bingham) 3:58
Label: Lost Highway Release Date: 06.02.09 Genre: Country-Rock, Americana, Heartland Rock Running Time: 51:48 Producer: Marc Ford
The Players:
Anthony Arvizu – Percussion
Ryan Bingham – Guitar, Harp, Keyboards, Vocals
Marc Ford – Guitar, Bass, Piano, Tambourine, Vocals, Shaker, Papoose
Janice Hudgins – Accordion
Mike Malone – Piano, Vocals
Larry Meyers – Violin
Corby Schaub – Guitar, Dobro, Mandolin, Vocals, Papoose
Matt Smith – Percussion, Vocals
When it comes to the fusion of country music and rock & roll, there are two types of artists. There are country-rock outfits, like Ryan Adams, Jorma Kaukonen, and the Jayhawks. Groups that seamlessly meld the two styles together into one seamless sound. Then there is a second group of musicians, like the Gourds or Son Volt, who play country music that rocks. Ryan Bingham is undoubtedly a member of the latter. With the release of his second full release, Roadhouse Sun, Bingham and his band, the Dead Horses, not only rock, they rock hard.
Born in New Mexico, Bingham began his career touring with the rodeo, first as a rider then eventually playing music. His background story doesn’t sound too far removed from the one Bob Dylan created for himself early in his career. An interesting note, since Bingham obviously has taken Dylan’s songs to inform his own music. In his short career, Bingham has already wrapped up some very top tier comparisons, be it Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, or Steve Earle. While his gravely voice is certainly striking, almost as if Mark Lanegan was singing on a Ryan Adams and the Cardinals album, his songwriting leaves much to be desired when sitting next to the names that he has been compared to. But then again, when people are saying that you are the next Dylan, Springsteen, or Waits…it is almost impossible to deliver. But what Bingham and the Dead Horses do deliver is an absolutely listenable and fun album that promises a career that will be impossible to avoid.
From the first notes of Roadhouse Sun’s opener, “Day is Done”, Bingham lulls the listener into thinking that this will just be another smooth and lazy, easy-going country affair, but when the band blasts open with the song’s first chorus you are pleasantly shocked into attention. This is where Bingham and the Dead Horses display their greatest strength; pure energetic rocking. As good as “Day is Done” is, the album’s glaring weaknesses come about with the next track, “Dylan’s Hard Rain”. It is apparent that Bingham is trying to be the great songwriter instead of the rough and tumble player. He often writes in wide generalities and too often displays his own weaknesses as a lyricist. Take for instance, the song’s closing words:
I heard the whistle, start a blowin’
Then I saw the mountain in the back come a tumblin’
Everybody’s wishing they could get out of the way,
Everybody’s wishing they could dig their ass out of the grave.
While Bingham borrows from Dylan’s repetitive chorus style, he lacks the playful wordsmithing that made the bard so famous, and shows a certain naiveté that creates a jarring chasm on the record between the old-style, world weary sound and the often sophomoric content. This leaves one pining for the day that Bingham will stop trying to be someone else and start being comfortable with his own sound.
All is not lost however, as Bingham turns in a fun bluegrass dancer with “Tell My Mother That I Miss Her So” and an excellent rocking track called “Bluebird”. “Bluebird” proves that Bingham has plenty of songwriting chops, as it’s repetitious sounds almost Zeppelin-esque in scope (which could also be the influence to ex-Black Crowes guitarist and producer Marc Ford). With “Snake Eyes”, Bingham exhibits probably his best attempt at balladry as well as some of his best lyric writing. The songs opens again taking from Dylan, but much more effectively this time.
Falling down on me, before you taste the rage,
Burn me down, I’m a book not a page
Lend me your dream, here’s a wing for my pay
When the shoe’s on the other foot, you ain’t got much to say,
The second half of Roadhouse Sun begins with the hard rocking “Change Is”, which might be the best track on the record, but quickly begins to drag. Tracks like “Hey Hey Hurray” and “Roadhouse Blues” are well-treaded territory as beer hall material. The album’s closer, “Wishing Well” is a well crafted song, but once again shows a certain lack of lyrical ability as the storytelling just lilts over lofty topics without actually going anywhere.
The 411: If you go into this expecting to find the genius songwriter of our generation, you're probably not going to be very happy. Roadhouse Sun finds Ryan Bingham to be a lot more Waylon Jennings than Tom Waits. That being said, this is a really good record. The band plays tight and raw. When not trying to be more than he is, Bingham proves himself to be a fun rocker with an interesting and magnetic sound. Roadhouse Sun is worth the time you spend with it and makes one look forward to what Bingham will do next.
