This ex-Texan sings I Can't Live In Houston Anymore and El Paso Sucks which helps explain why he now resides in the Berkshire Hills in New England.
Based on these songs, the reasons for Jeb's relocation appear to be personal rather than political. The former, for example, is about getting over a high school crush and the second is "about heartache, pain and unrequited love", themes which resurface in the majority of the tunes on this double album.
Paradoxically, Gravel Roads And Whiskey Bars is a dobro-driven song centred on the near impossibility of escaping from a small town and comes with a dejected air of resignation: "Life is hard and won't get better I swear".
|
Boasting that "No computers were used in the recording of these songs", Barry is assisted by what he calls a “hard dirt Americana” band. However, since he plays guitars, banjo, harmonica and mandolin, the members were probably selected more out of a sense of companionship than for their musical prowess.
The tortured blues tunes and stripped back folk songs mostly last for 3 minutes or less; more than enough time to convey the all-pervading mood of quiet desperation.
Jeb Barry's website
|
