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 CD
REVIEW - The Burtschi Brothers / Ain't Being Treated Right (Roadmap)
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Artist
: The Burtschi
Brothers
Title :
Ain't Being Treated
Right
Label :
Roadmap
Reviewed By :
H.Barry Zimmerman
Site : www.burtschibrothers.com |
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I
have been listening to mostly weirdo rock and Los Angeles punk
from the early 80’s , as of late . I have been on the verge
of tripping out / or screaming “ Anarchy / screw The Man
“ , through the streets . These emotions are an enormous
sectional in my cooptic spiritual mass . But , today when I
put on The Burtschi Brothers I was whisked away to my youth
, to rural Oklahoma , where I was a boy . To a time before I
understood and related to Captain Beefheart or Henry Rollins
. To a time where my dog Red was my bestest bud and the hours
were spent daydreaming in the woods building tree houses with
the fellas .
‘ Ain’t Being Treated Right ‘ , The Burtschi
Brothers ( who are not really brothers ) second full length
disc , is full of the dreams of small town American boys. A
great deal of these songs are about getting out , traveling
on a guitar chord and riding the mythic winds - away . The album
begins with an acoustic guitar picking steps and strumming casual
as Travis Linville ( the motor of this old Ford ) sings the
opening lines of ‘ You Hold The Whisky , I’ll Hold
The Money ‘ ( “ People say that we look scared / Flinching
at every train whistle blare “ ) . Trains are a great devise
( not that I think they’re being calculating or manipulative
with the imagery ) by which to discuss ‘ the mythic out
there ‘ . Trains come from the unknown and head off into
the unknown like a whisper from the rambling winds of freedom
through the ear of longing . And that’s what we have here
, the music of the longing . The descendants of Steinbeck’s
heroic Okies , telling their tales with honesty on a modern
page .
On top of the genuine layer of plain folk sensibility is the
screaming fact that these guys have come to play . The Texas-swing’aliscous
title song is just ripping the cool dirt road jazz . Everybody
is getting it . The notes are chose with a hunter’s eye
and executed with lightening energy through out . The explanation
point on the road sign is that ‘ Asleep At The Wheel ‘
bad-ass steel guitar player Cindy Cashdollar flashes her raging
skills ( as the one and only guest ) . This is serious picking
and grinning
folks...serious .
This music is defenantly leaning country , but it is bigger
than the word . You can hear the influences of Willie Nelson
and The Allman Brothers Band and lots of good ol’ boys
, but mostly what you hear is people who love the music , living
it and playing it .
And , while these guys are living local , I don’t know
them . This is not a favor to any walking soul . I was turned
on to them by a good friend of mine . I’ve never even seen
them live , I understand that’s an entire other kettle
of Okie madness ( they are performing tonight , July 26th at
The Deli , 309 White Street / Campus Corner ) . I was genuinely
touched by their music - it got to me in a very personal way
.
The cover of ‘ Ain’t Being Treated Right ‘ is
a picture of an orange and pink sky above a lone tree . The
open space is the perfect vehicle to convey the wide open ,
infinite dreaming , captured here for all to share . A special
thanks to The Burtschi Brothers ( from me ) for the much enjoyed
flashback - now if you’ll excuse me , I need to go and
call my folks , later .
H.Barry Zimmerman |
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