
“Slim Pickens is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer with a penchant for the aesthetics of simpler times. Think Woody Guthrie meets Ramblin’ Jack Elliot with a little Ry Cooder unpredictability thrown into the mix.”
Although only weighing in at around 25
minutes, this is the kind of CD that makes me wanna whizz down the local bottlo
and grab some fine port before stoking up the fireplace and losing myself in
the warm bare bones style that is so refreshing. Double Bass player from
rockabilly band "The Purple Drippers," Slim has put together a mighty
fine country blues selection where he plays just about everything with the
exception of drums which are handled by Kayne Butler. OK, so the only original
here is the first track, and even tho I prefer CD's with more original content,
here I make an exception with Slim's finely crafted arrangements of tracks
penned by Roy Bookbinder - John Mayall - Hank Williams - Elmore James - Willie
Dixon and Ry Cooder, each song beautifully presented in a mesmerizing array of
sound that I call paradise. Foot Stompin' grooves, bare boned Delta fingerpickin'
styles and smooth vocals make you want to spin this a few times. Slim's musical
expression the Elmore James classic "You Gotta Move" stands out
alongside Ry Cooder's powerful slide guitar instrumental in "Feelin' Bad
Blues." Not only a great selection of songs but also great musical
presentation as well. Now for another bottle of that ol' Grandfather Port and a
few more logs in the fireplace :-)
Mark ‘Radar’ Watson
Next
Time - Review
CD REVIEW
catch in the Byron Bay area venues. Slim Pickens is singer, songwriter,
guitarist and producer with a penchant for the aesthetics of simpler times.
Think Woody Guthrie meets Ramblin’ Jack Elliot with a little Ry Cooder
identity Alison Pearl and how she fended off a mugger in New York City. The
remaining material reveals Pickens’ musical inspirations, opening with
Mississippi John Hurt’s ‘My Creole Belle’, stopping at Guthrie’s ‘Dust Can’t
Kill Me’ and ‘Vigilante Man’, old-timey songs ‘I Will Fly Away’ (dedicated to
his father), ‘Tamp Em Up Solid’ (with acknowledgement of Ry Cooder’s version)
and ‘Can’t Get That Stuff No More’
(Tampa Red). Most of these songs also demonstrate Pickens’ lively sense of
humour.
delicacy and ardour. If this record doesn't make you smile, you could be beyond
help.
Rhythms Magazine Review April 2014 for “Hankering”
NSW North Coast local Slim Pickens has kept
himself busy in recent times, particularly now that he’s set up his own home
recording studio. Here he indulges his love for Hank Williams with a tribute
album to country music’s greatest singer-songwriter that coruscates with both
personality and reverence. Though Pickens is capable of handling most
instrumentation himself, he assembled a fantastic band to back him, with
regular cohort Dr Baz on accordion, Neil McCann on drums and Dougie Bull on
bass. The venerable Ray Cullen adds sweet old-school pedal steel and special
guests include Gleny Rae on fiddle and Warren Earl, who plays some very tasty
electric guitar.
Trip
To mars – Review
So, if we were all asked to pick out our
favourite dozen John Prine songs, I
wonder how much crossover there’d be. Ask around. I bet you’ll get wildly
varying answers. Prine was that kind of artist – a writer with an astonishingly
broad and deep catalogue. So Slim Pickens’ personal love letter on the passing
of Prine is exactly that - personal. No “Sam Stone”, no Angel From Montgomery,
no “Mexican Home”.