Robert Earl Keen

What I Really Mean

Koch records - 9810
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This is vintage Robert Earl Keen with his excellent band that has long been anchored by Rich Brotherton on guitar and Tom Van Schalk on drums.  Most of the band has been with him for years and it shows in their cohesiveness as a unit.  As usual there is a very strong diversity in the mix of musical textures of the songs he lays out for us.  A few slower more pensive tunes that enable us to really feel the pain in his characters (very strong in “The Dark Side of The World) brought to life with his stark images of the pain.  The lilting Irish flavor (he has E.J. Jones on Northumbrian small pipes) to the dark chase in “The Travel Storm” has the music almost defying the dark nature of his song.  The strange and almost tortured vision that comes from “The Great Hank.”  Which truly has to be one of the strangest songs written about the legendary Hank Williams.

 


Robert Earl Keen What
  The south of the border feel of the music in “A Border Tragedy” again mixes the texture up, and takes us another notch from the safety of the Texas singer songwriter feel that is more common on his recordings. He loves to take things to the edge and push his envelope to the furthest extreme while at the same time keeping the disc cohesive.  A delicate balancing act and one he pulls off well.  He never ceases to amaze with what he brings to the table, and this is a very worthy aural feast.