A pun on The Taming of the Shrew that's apropos of nothing much in the content of the album (and might be accused of being too pleased with itself), The Shaming of the True comes over as a sketchbook of ideas - musical and lyrical - that suggests the possibility of greater things rather than offering any finished product in itself. Twelve tracks, coming in at an average of three minutes apiece, play with a broad range of musical possibilities and have a lightness and sureness of touch that demonstrates old hands at work here, totally confident in the medium.
For an album recorded in Nashville it's a surprise that there's more evidence of a blues influence than a country one - white man's blues, right enough, but blues for all that. 'What is the Measure of a Man?' and 'Goodbye For Good' in particular are really rootsy and earthy, whilst you could easily imagine Eric Clapton covering 'St.John'. Actually these really bluesy tracks come over best partly because of some lovely easy guitar work and partly because John Sieger's voice seems to suit them best. The other end of the range here is, perhaps, 'I Married Money' with its light, throwaway lyric - humorous but true. It put me in mind of Nick Lowe at his most pop-tastic, except I've never heard a Nick Lowe song that features trumpet, provided here by the estimable Phil Lee.
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None of these songs get much beyond hanging around one lyrical idea, or a hook; 'Warm Welcome in a Cold Town', in particular outstays its welcome by not having enough going on. On the other hand, 'You Gotta Be Strong' teases us with an echo of John Lee Hooker's 'Boom Boom' and then is gone, in under two minutes. It's a good album to put on random play, giving each track a chance to shine; the best moments come from some great guitar work, especaially the slide guitar on 'What is the Measure of a Man?'. It's not going to change your life but 'The Shaming of the True' offers plenty of fun along the way.
(John Davy www.nessmp3.com/music/biscuitsandgravy)
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