The Band of Blacky Ranchette is an opportunity for Howe Gelb (he of
Giant Sand semi-fame) to sit back, relax, and throw some songs down in a
jam-like setting with his friends. True, that kind of sounds like any
other Gelb project -- his work usually maintains a
fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants charm, and pristine production is usually
the last thing on his mind -- but the Blacky Ranchette projects (this
marks the fourth release in about twenty years) let him work out his
country and western cravings without too much pressure. Like anything
involving Gelb, though, that "country and western" tag comes with a lot
of qualifiers. You certainly aren't going to hear it sandwiched between
George Strait and Shania Twain.
Aiding him this this time around are folks like Neko Case, Richard
Buckner, Lambchop's Kurt Wagner, M. Ward, Chan Marshall, and Calexico (a
roster that's even more of a guarantee you won't be hearing any
boot-scootin' boogies). In some cases, folks got together and jammed the
songs together; in others, Gelb took existing backing tracks and
spontaneously asked people to provide vocals. One of the most charming
examples is Wagner's vocal turn on "The Muss of Paradise". Recorded
outside an airport, it's bursting with peripheral noises like cars
passing, Gelb coaching Wagner on lyrics, lyric sheets turning, and even
a conversation with a police officer or attendant who tells them they
can't park where they're sitting. On "Getting it Made", Gelb constructs
a flawless duet between Buckner and Case, even though the two reportedly
laid down their parts months apart (and Buckner didn't even know he was
going to be part of a duet). As much as any recording Gelb's done,
Still Looking Good to Me exemplifies his
strike-while-the-iron's-hot mentality.
Gelb's friends are obviously of the same mold, because Still
Looking Good to Me is a leisurely, ramshackle record full of loping
country rhythms, touches of pedal steel guitar, and subtle shifts in
tone. Songs like "Bored Lil' Devil" and "Square" are primarily Gelb, an
acoustic guitar, some drums, and whoever else is in the room chipping in
on harmonies. These songs are often creaky, filled with quiet spaces or
background noise, and possessed of a timeless feeling. Even the more
full-bodied tracks never get carried away with themselves. For some,
Gelb's sandy, deliberate delivery is probably grating, but once you let
yourself into his laid-back desert style, it just carries you along.
"Getting it Made" shifts from a shuffling pace to a mariachi-tinged
guitar and piano interlude, and finishes up with a spry, bandoneon-laced
outburst -- and it just sweeps you along as you tap your feet.
Lyrically, Gelb doesn't concentrate on any one topic, but trains make
more than a few appearances on Still Looking Good to Me. "The
Train Singer's Song" gets some momentum going by the end, but it never
tries to mimic a runaway locomotive: instead, it takes an easy pace,
evoking dusty valleys and lonesome train whistles. In an odd choice,
Gelb even tackles "Working on the Railroad" (with a blissfully
fuzzed-out guitar solo). "Rusty Tracks" refers to "trout replica masks",
giving a nod to one of Gelb's obvious influences: Captain Beefheart.
Beefheart's gut-bucket blues don't show up on Still Looking Good to
Me (or really anywhere else in Gelb's output), but the overall
aesthetic of vibe over by-the-numbers precision runs to Gelb's core.
Another thread running throughout the album is Neko Case, who almost
steals the show from Gelb on a number of occasions. Case's voice is so
clear, so strong, so steeped in classic country phrasing that she could
probably make a billion dollars if she ever sold out and joined the
Nashville scene (at the very least, she should consider a cover record
of classic country tracks). On Still Looking Good to Me she
weaves in and out of songs like a drawling muse, raising each track to
another level. Her duet with Buckner is the obvious standout, but
everywhere she appears, its as if Gelb has mined a pure and previously
lost vein of some classic country element.
Still Looking Good to Me is an interesting counterpoint to
Gelb's previous release, The Listener. The Listener was
informed as much by Gelb's Tucson home as well as by his time spent in
Denmark (where he makes his home for half of the year). Still Looking
Good to Me jettisons The Listener's relative polish and
smoothness in favor of dusty roughness and bare-bones country
sentiments. It's not for everybody, certainly, but even if you're only
straddling the fence of Gelb appreciation, Still Looking Good to
Me has plenty of off-kilter, slightly lo-fi delights to offer.
— 2 October 2003
