JD McPherson might initially seem like an unusually suave and erudite roots-retro guy, but after a little time spent with his work it’s clear he’s too damned cagey to be encapsulated by that description. On the way to finishing his second album McPherson has indulged in a slick bit of vinyl homage, not just covering “I Wish You Would” and “Steal Away,” two prime cuts associated with the Vee Jay label, but also enticing the folks at Concord/ Rounder to revive the imprint for a classy and highly enjoyable limited run 45.
Lots of roots-retro cats nurture the appearance of having just slept off a bender in the backseat of a ’56 Buick. Happily, that’s not the case with JD McPherson. A college graduate and established visual artist, the Oklahoma born and bred singer-songwriter/ guitarist possesses musical tastes far from narrow or stalled in the guts of the 1900s.
Of course, forced or strained eclecticism also lacks appeal. To this point however, McPherson has avoided that potential issue. To illustrate, influences as wide as Stiff Little Fingers, The Smiths, and the Wu Tang Clan figure on his 2011 debut Signs & Signifiers, but the completed disc, produced by Chicagoan Jimmy Sutton, hits a sweet spot between Specialty Records-styled R&B and the loose juice of primo rockabilly. In other words, it’s a gas, man; if by chance The Blasters is one of your favorite platters, you need Signs & Signifiers in your life more than that spare kidney.
First released on Hi-Style Records, it quickly caught the ear of the Rounder label, that long-serving outfit licensing it to broader recognition in 2012. Earlier this year Rounder concluded a move from Massachusetts (where they started in 1970) to Nashville, and back in 2010 they were purchased by the Concord Music Group, an enterprise that happens to be the gatekeeper to a demonstrable assload of the 20th century’s quality sounds.
Including Vee Jay, and if you don’t know that name please rest assured any number of the defunct company’s singles can serve an unsuspecting mortal their own posterior on a plate. But did I just type defunct? Seems I did, but as long as copies of JD McPherson’s latest 45 are floating around for the buying, Vee Jay’s status is open to question.
Well, sort of. You see, the skinny is that while the Concord Music Group is undeniably a large operation, somebody out in the Hills of Beverly was clued-in enough to ask McPherson to cover a Vee Jay tune after Concord snatched up the catalog. His response was to inquire if they’d be interested in putting out a 45 with the classic maroon and silver Vee Jay label; feasting eyes on the picture and intro above, the answer should be obvious.
Waxed for Vee Jay in 1955, harmonica cat and vocalist Billy Boy Arnold’s “I Wish You Would” is something of a multifaceted warhorse as chestnut. The moaning harp groove places it squarely in the ballpark of the then hotly developing Chicago Blues sound as Arnold borrows the infectious and instantly recognizable rhythmic swagger from his Windy City associate Bo Diddley (Billy Boy plays on Bo’s “I’m a Man”).
“I Wish You Would” proved compelling to The Yardbirds, who issued a lesser but likeable treatment as their first single in 1964. McPherson’s take, while not as great as Arnold’s, does best the ‘birds, ditching the harmonica but retaining the hip-swinging allure of the original, though it snuggles closer to the Latin feel of Little Walter’s rump-shake behemoth “Mellow Down Easy.” And while the production is as deft as anything on Signs & Signifiers, the track oozes an aura distinct from the long player.
Recorded at Fame studio by Rick Hall in 1962, Jimmy Hughes’ “Steal Away” was a major early development in the growth of the Muscle Shoals Sound (and notably, it was briefly on Hall’s Fame label before Vee Jay picked it up). A top-notch (and Top 20) ballad with that sturdy Southern Soul backbone of rhythm section and guitar, it finds Hughes confident and expressive of voice, as piano, organ and backup singing expertly enhance the whole. It’s smooth but not too polished and perfect for slow dancing by the jukebox in the back of a dive bar deep into the midst of a dark Saturday night.
It’s not a model likely to be improved upon, so McPherson makes some crucial adjustments, dropping the piano and extra vocals, slowing the pace a tad, and in large part through the addition of a nasty guitar line transforming it into a hunk of roadhouse R&B. Hughes’ gospel-sourced verve is replaced by McPherson’s more measured approach, smoother but with a touch of the ominous as the lyrics subtly shift from essaying a covert love affair to instead hint at a surge of illicit amorous need in the wee hours.
Unlike, “I Wish You Would,” comparing “Steal Away” to the original is sorta off-target, with McPherson’s version significantly altered that it adequately stands as its own thing. It completes a strong 45 with a nifty concept, though it requires mention that the vinyl edition is evaporating from availability in rapid fashion.
In the likelihood of not obtaining a physical specimen both of the songs are included on McPherson’s recent digital only “Warm Covers EP.” The added numbers are an earthier reading of Nick Lowe’s “Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day” (from ‘07’s At My Age) and a revamping of Alabama’s “Why Lady Why” that manages to successfully amplify the inherent Soul attributes of the source, ultimately coming off like an update of a late-‘50s side from King Records, or as appropriate to the creative thrust of this 7-inch, Vee Jay.
Again, those wanting the 45 should step up fast, for the probability of another pressing is questionable. But as the speed of its disappearance underscores, a second installment of selections from the Vee Jay vaults would be very much appreciated. Imaginative, musically vibrant releases such as this are a fine alternative to the current stream of predictable reissues and generally undistinguished product. And based on the evidence here, things bode quite nicely for JD McPherson’s upcoming album.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
