(This is a review of the albums, "O' California" and "O' Santa Barbara" by music reviewer, Billy Sheppard)
Billy's Bunker Music Reviews, May 16, 2007
Billy Sheppard, www.billysbunker.com
STONEY GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS: BLACK ANGEL BAND
Current mood: 
bouncy
Category: Music
STONEY GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS
BLACK ANGEL
BAND
O' Santa Barbara!
O' California!
O' Los Angeles (coming
soon)
"The stony garden of the spirit grows
Things never harvested in
orderly rows."
Theodore Roethke from "Straw for the Fire"
I'll say it
up front, Black Angels Band has spirit!*
(Yeah, that's right a footnote!
So sue me!) If you think this band doesn't understand what fans are about, read
the damn footnote taken from an email from the band. (Permission to print was
requested and granted.)
There is hidden wisdom in this album, delivered
with rocking good, bad boy charm and more disingenuous heart than a murder of
Black Crowes. J.C. Martin's songs have Stones grit, Randy Newman wit, with a
voice from the gravel pit.
Three rapid fire albums in as many months
from Black Angel Band should kick the Ya'Ya's out of your woofers and force feed
your CD player with rock 'n roll.
Who the hell are these guys? There are
two soul/gospel soloists on this album split to either ear, that carry the song
to a place no background singer can find on a map. Cory Orosco is dead right on
bass, honky tonk on upright, gospel on Sunday and boosey sex all week long from
the Hammond B–3, front porch honest on the mandolin, dobro, tambourine and God
only know what other percussion. Tina Stefans on the shake and bake drums, can
fake and weave from bass line to bass line like Meadow Lark Lemon, hit nothing
but net, and keep singing. And oh that guit box, Ernie Joseph Orosco's mistress,
is a trip to rock 'n roll heaven by way of Memphis, with a stop over in New
Orleans and all points south. Martin's voice is Louisiana swamp voodoo with Mick
sass and the Cajon spice of a Mac Rebennack. Mark Parson on violin and Bill
Flores on pedal steel, as co-conspirators, "contribute" with more heart than
hired guns generally bring to the party. This Stoney garden of earthly delights
delivers disorderly insight with focused tongues of fire in the face of the way
things are.
One Listen to Black Angel Band will put you in exile on
various main streets around the Golden State. Alright, they sound like the
Rolling Stones from that best of double album years back, when the Stones
sounded like Dr. John, who sifted through a murky bucket load of blues from
Professor Longhair. This band has lived the songs, and didn't have to lift their
experience from 1950s southern race records. J.C. doesn't have a fake southern
accent, and the band won't need walkers for 40 years to come. I haven't heard
their live sound, but the two albums available to me are more live than most
concert records and this band will be charging onstage long after the Stones
have retired to the Betty Ford Center to gather moss.
Nod to the Brits on
O' Santa Barbara (pronounced "Babylon") are fresh arrangements of Stray Cat
Blues and Brown Sugar (with Mrs. Audrey (Mrs. Ike) Turner). Both are welcome
covers with new arrangements.
THE SONGS:
O' CALIFORNIA (16
Songs)
FAVORITE CUT: "Believe Me" is the highlight of O' California,
describing the "small town beauty queen" with a doowap backing "chick" vocals,
and two lead guitars float ear to ear. The message is carried by the plaintiff
backing female vocal, "Believe me! I'm the first chick singer who can walk on
water!" This soulful oversell is delivered straight from the heart with tongue
in cheek deep enough to stretch your own face into a smile. Heard this song on
the radio a couple of months ago, and couldn't pull the car over fast enough to
write down the artist.
"O' California" (the song) is salted with wit and
oversold, singing-from-the-hymnal sincerity. A tasteful acoustic guitar
embroiders the right ear, with a bent note descending from a high point in the
left, and a unison gospel choir of mixed vocals over J.C.'s characteristic
gravel pit vocal singing, "Someday all your cigarettes will be cold. Someday all
of your movie stars will be old!" An understated synth keyboard adds presence
and a whispy presence, to this gospel according to the way things are. It's the
sound of fickle commercial power, sung from "Santa Barbara—half way between
Disneyland and Death Valley." Rich lyric worth reading long to the record:
"You've got wines that taste just like Marilyn Monroe's kisses. One night with
you can lead to eternity." This Black Angel ascends from the pit, or plummets
like Icharus, with the ironic message that he has seen the future and it doesn't
work.
"1 Beer" delivers both sweet ironic charm and a fan letter to Mary
J. Blige, the Dixie Chicks, Canada, the Devil, the Lord and a backsliding
Pentecostal preacher, with J.C. drinking up the night with a beer apiece. A
little Sharps for this exercise, a Buckler, and a couple of O'Douls. Strange
quirky joy here once again, and more humor than cynicism.
O' SANTA
BARBARA (17 Songs)
"Elvis Love Songs (Trashy Lingerie): An honest cure
for hard times, conflict and despair. "Politics and religion… we got into a
fight. Then she put on her Elvis love song…. her trashy lingerie. We found
heaven again… heaven again." Maybe we can all get along! More about this
relationship later.
FAVORITE CUT: "Waylon's Song" will grind it's way
into your heart with "Listen, life's not fair! There's something good in the
air! Can't keep a good man down!" Great guitar grind and voices mind melt into a
wry rock 'n roll stew. A tribute song, I believe. A toast to the hard times.
Ain't no use crying, things look good up ahead.
"I Never Got Over You" is
a guilty favorite, for personal reasons. Two songs here at first glance, the
political "Even chimps can tell that Bonzo woulda been better than Ronnie" and
such observations, and the heartbreak love line "Sweat and work can't hide my
hurt…. It's true…. I never got over you." Had some good times with a political
opposite, who was "lookin' devine… but she [was] lookin.'" Had to get out of
that dog house in order to bark. Good times, though. Song James Carville may
sing in his heart.
"I've Been Bad": "I've been bad, yessiree, babe… bay…
ba… bay… ba… bay… baby that's what you like about me!" Rousing wall to wall
guitar, a groove, and inspired hand clap percussion. 'Nuff said.
"Momma,
Please Don't Turn The Lights Out" tells a story rescue from abuse and fear and
loss in the life a cowboy who saves broken women by always treating them right,
only to loose the fish he fixed. "Can't you see I'm scared?" … "I think there's
been some monsters in my bed." Let he who hasn't been there throw the first
stone!
O' LOS ANGELES (Coming Soon!)
Three albums in as many
months from a generous band frustrated with playing live in a world of "come to
the party and bring your guitar" compensation. More about O' Los Angeles when it
is released.
* Wanna know what spirit is about?
Check out what
this story sent to me by email. Think of it as a day in the life of a Black
Angel:
"We did a nutty thing about two years ago. We got tired of being a
great band playing crappy, little clubs (and some good and bad bigger clubs.....
[A couple sentences tastefully omitted.] The Roxy..... awful.... we brought 200
people from Santa Barbara as the headliner on a Saturday night on July 31 with a
starting time of 10:30 p.m. with our busses pulling up at 10:00 p.m. from Santa
Barbara..... they wanted us to change our starting time to 9:00 a.m. I almost
got in a fist fight with the 300 pound Hells Angel that The Roxy turned the
night over to after booking us. I told him that there were at least 100 drunk
postal workers scheduled to show up at 10:00 p.m. that would tear The Roxy
apart..... he never relented or said a thing, but we went on at 10:30.......
Anyway what we decided to do was to record three albums in a row."
[Black
Angel] J.C. Martin
Website
garageband.com/artist/blackangelband
Band Members
J. C. Martin (lead
vocals and guitar)
Tina Stefens (drums)
Cory Orosco (bass, keyboards and
back-up vocals)
Ernie Orosco (guitar and back-up vocals).