It's a weird situation to be in when you're reviewing a 'Best of..' selection from a band you've never heard of before, yet that's the situation your reviewer finds himself in here. Because, while this writer has been farcically unaware of their very existence, BLACKIE & THE RODEO KINGS have quietly burrowed their way into the greater North American existence and have become revered as one of Canada's finest roots-rock outfits over the past fifteen years or so.
There again, the band's core trio (Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden and Tom Wilson) also came together in a rather haphazard fashion. Hailing from disparate folk, blues and rock'n'roll backgrounds, they initially got together to record an album of covers in tribute to cult Canadian roots troubadour Willie.P. Bennett around 1996. The resulting 'High or Hurtin'' album proved such a success that the trio have established themselves as a kinda roots-y equivalent of Crosby, Stills & Nash over the past decade or so, reconvening regularly despite despite the fact all three regularly collaborate and pursue solo furrows as well.
Consequently, thanks to a lavish digipak and detailed liner notes, 'Swinging From The Chains of Love' proves to be a quality introduction for the uninitiated as well as a celebratory pocket compendium of the band's major hurrahs thus far. The band themselves are the very epitome of a deomocracy at work. I'm sure there are bitter arguments behind the scenes, but a united front is always presented, with Fearing, Linden and Wilson all contributing songs and the group's regular backline – drummer Gary Craig, bassist Johnny Dymond and sadly recently-deceased keyboard maestro Richard Bell - also playing crucial roles throughout.
It's pretty much wall to wall quality too. Sometimes, the Rodeo Kings can rock with the best of them. Witness the diamond-hard power of the Howlin' Wolf-inspired, Stones-y strut of 'Water or Gasoline' or the tough, Steve Earle-style rockabilly workout of 'Swinging From The Chains of Love' itself. This latter is quite possibly one of the most irresistible break-up songs ever and comes replete with a magnificent, Clarence Baker-style guitar solo from Linden which fair takes your breath away.
For a primarily roots-related combo, The Rodeo Kings have a positive relationship with pop too. Linden's suggestive 'Remedy' has a supple groove which again recalls the Stones at their funkiest. 'Stoned' is a puposeful mid-paced and wasted pop-rocker sung with atmosphere to spare by Fearing and both the achingly lovely 'If I Catch You Cryin'' and the spangly guitars of 'Heaven For A Lonely Man' demonstrate they can hit the spot with chiming, Byrds-meets-Tom Petty anthems tailor made for radio.
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Naturally, they're more than ready for the Country too. From their mentor Willie P. Bennett's songbook, 'White Line' is a dustily elegant road song with three-way harmonies. Wilson's 'Lean On Your Peers' is a John Mellencamp-esque tale of everyman blue-collar existence which rolls with the folk-rock punches and the ominous, Appalachian-style 'Vale of Tears' has a dark, murderous power accentuated by their secret weapon: Colin Linden's positively unearthly dobro playing.
Although Linden, Fearing and Wilson are all formidable songwriters, two of the album's high points are the pair of covers. All three wax lyrical about The Band's influence on their work and Richard Bell's Kentucky mining disaster tune 'The Caves of Jericho' taps into their loping, rural magnificence. Not surprising when you consider it was co-written by The Band's Levon Helm and they would also record it for the Robbie Robertson-less 'Jericho' album. The Rodeo Kings' version, though, may have been recorded under The Band's influence, but is far too strong to stray into mere pastiche.
Arguably even better, though, is their cover of Johnny Cash's 'Folsom Prison Blues'. Although it's one of those that's slipped into the realm of public domain these days, The Kings' version is likeably radical. Egged on by Gary Craig's inebriated hip-hop beat, loaded'n'slurring vocals and Bell's amphetamine Jools Holland piano playing, it lurches into a whole new arena and is one of the best Cash covers this writer has ever heard.
'Swinging From The Chains Of Love', then, is a vibrant and hard-hitting introduction to a marvellous band whose very existence had somehow remained under this writer's radar until now. Better later than never, though. Discovering Blackie & The Rodeo Kings is one of those great 'eureka' moments and you can rest assured you need to work backwards to the individual studio albums once you've been inducted into this fine body of work.
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