Yonkers NY

Description

As a songwriter, Chip Taylor has never seemed to be able to rest on his considerable laurels. Since his return to music in 1996, hes made a series of roots music records, including those with Carrie Rodriguez and Kendel Carson, that have all been critically acclaimed. Yonkers, NY, may be his most ambitious and most self-indulgent album (not that the latters a bad thing). Nearing 70, Taylor writes a lot about the past here as he looks back on his life and times in that little suburb just north of the Bronx where he and his brothers actor Jon Voight and geologist Barry Voight grew up, and reveals some family secrets along the way (none of them dark). The band includes guitarist John Platania; Greg Leisz on pedal steel, mandolin, and Dobro; bassist Tony Mercadante; pianist and accordionist Seth Farber; Carson on fiddle; and drummer Tony Leone and the music is drenched in classic Americana: folk, country, and rockabilly. On this 11-track set, Taylor recounts his adventures musically and, in some tracks on the first disc such as the opening Barry Go On (Put Yourself on the Mountain) and Bastard Brothers he recounts spoken stories. There are brief written commentaries on the songs in the deluxe hardbound lyric and photo booklet as well.
For those interested in hearing these reminiscences only once, disc two contains just the songs, and this is where the real power of the album lies. Check Charcoal Sky, the sets most tender cut. The pace is slow and the tale is of an old train station, as Taylor recounts the trips his father took him and his brothers on to visit the station so they could lay their nickels on the tracks, tell stories of the conductors, and whenever possible introduce them to one another. Gin Rummy Rules is a thinly disguised confessional narrative (done in a 4/4 country shuffle). In the early rock & roll style of Hey Jonny, Taylor avenges the injustices done to Bill Haleys music by DJs of the period who thought he was black and wouldnt play his records. He enfolds Rock Around the Clock into his narrative about the film Blackboard Jungle. Likewise, in Saw Mill River Road, he employs Johnny Cashs Big River. Each track pays tribute to some aspect of Taylors autobiography but also, more importantly, the story of his town. These are summed up in the shuffling honky tonk meets 50s rock of Yonkers Girls and the closing title track, a simple but heartbreaking ballad of Taylors youth, of the towns magical place in his life. Yonkers, NY is filled with intimate, often humorous songs with touches of melancholy and longing; its about an old-timer reflecting his wisdom about innocence. Its unlike any other record Taylors made. Recordings like this full of stories, humor, and personal reflection are rarely made anymore. Therefore, we have all the more reason to treasure them. ~ Thom Jurek