"A DEADLINE IS A MARVELOUS THING. IT FORCES
A MAN TO discipline himself, to organize his thoughts and notes and to
tackle the work at hand with single mindedness of purpose in a timely
fashion. That is, unless you are THIS man.
For me, a deadline is a thing that hides away in a dark corner,
minding its own business—until late in the night before it comes due.
That’s when, with all the squealing enthusiasm of a toddler playing
peek-a-boo, it boldly proclaims, “Here I am!” The ensuing chaos usually
resolves itself in an alarm being set for an ungodly early hour and the
coffee pot being set up so that all I have to do is turn on the burner.
I needn’t have bothered this time. The first thing I did after
telling the alarm what I thought about its mother was to crank up Husky
Burnette’s latest album, and after that the coffee became unnecessary.
A good deal has already been written about Husky and why not? He’s
one of the most recognizable figures in Chattanooga music, a perennial
player who always seem to have a gig somewhere. Big or small, grand
ballroom or greasy spoon, if they’ll let him in the door, Burnette will
play there.
When it comes to playing music, he is “the working man.” That being
the case, we’re going to dispense with the minutiae. I don’t know his
favorite food or color. (I’d guess beans and cornbread and, I don’t
know, periwinkle?) What I do know is that 2013’s Tales from East End Blvd.
is a phenomenal collection tunes. It’s no wonder, then, that it has
rapidly become his most popular and successful offering to date.
Blues can be a tricky genre. As a musical style it is, in its basic
form, easy to learn. Almost anyone can do it, which is why almost
everyone does at one point or other, and that means that a fellow really
has to have some serious chops to stand out. Burnette has the chops.
First and foremost is his voice. Part Dr. John, part Dr. Teeth,
wrapped in a big ol’ Billy Gibbons burrito, Burnette’s voice is what
blues is supposed to sound like. Calling it guttural or growling is
watering it down too much; it is raw, real and powerful. It is a voice
with character. On tunes like “See-Saw” and “That Liquor,” it evokes the
image of a big man with a permanent scowl plowing 40 sun-baked acres in
the Mississippi heat; and while his voice drives the operation, his
guitar is the mule pulling the plow—mean, ornery, ready to kick you in
the brains given half a chance.
And there you have it, a cheesy metaphor but an accurate description
of the relationship between Burnette’s singing and playing; they
complement each other so well it’s hard to think of either
individually.
He can sing and he can play and for many artists that is enough, but
Burnette is a triple threat, bringing considerable lyrical talent to the
table as well. It was during his stint as lead guitarist for Roger Alan
Wade that Burnette first discovered his own penchant for “the words.”
Arguably it was this tendency that served as the impetus for his own
solo career, one not driven by any particular message or agenda so much
as a fervent desire to keep alive an authenticity in music laid down by
the likes of Merle Haggard, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt.
So, Burnette is a blues-voiced storyteller with a mean guitar, a holy trinity that blazes from the 12 tracks of Tales from East End Blvd. There
is depth here, and range. “Come on Carolina” takes a break from the
juke joint and settles in barefoot on the front porch with a languid
banjo and harmonies that channel the ghost of Jerry Garcia. Toss in a
baying hound dog and the tune would fairly fart magnolias.
It would be remiss to mention the touch of Jerry here and not point
out the dash of Jimi Hendrix in “Coonie Hill.” That’s really what makes
the album so damned delightful. It is blues, yes, but every tune has
some hook, some unexpected nuance that makes the whole package very
palate pleasing. There’s no boredom or redundancy here.
I have only one complaint: This album NEEDS to be on vinyl. I
mentioned this to Burnette when we spoke. He agreed and said that
initially that seemed unlikely, but after 16 weeks and counting as the
featured album on i-Tunes Blues the record label is taking notice and it
may not be long before the brilliant little blues album comes to a
turntable near you.
I don’t often make predictions; that’s a fool’s game generally, but I feel confident in making this one: Tales from East End Blvd. is
going to be remembered as the album that made Husky Burnette. The man
is on his way to the big time and this is how he’s going to get there.
Check it out on Spotify, download it from i-Tunes or best of all, pick
up a copy from Burnette himself."
