Jenny Don't and the Spurs - self-titled debut

 

After seeing the Spurs a little over a week ago, I wanted to pick up some music of theirs and seeing as I had a 20-spot and their CDs were 2-fer-ten, I grabbed this debut along with their latest. I totally dug their melodic country sounds and this album, while only consisting of half the bands I saw - Jenny, natch, and bassist Kelly (who's been around the musical block a few times in numerous congregations) though they now have a different guitarist and their original drummer Sam tragically passed away recently - still contains a similar feel as their current work.

Starting with the elemental "The Fire", we get Jenny's sweetly crooned vocals, a galloping beat and a riff somewhat reminiscent of the Gun Club - fine playing all around and nice writing with interesting melodic twists'n'turns. "My Love" is acoustically-based, but still swings at a good pace with some nice country guitar licks, while "Take Me To Jail" is kinda 50's country/blues in a Loretta Lynn way, with sassy lyrics in the vein of "Fist City", and "L.E.A.V.I.N.G." (you can't go wrong with spelling songs!) is sorta a slow rockabilly number with cool vocal/guitar interaction with a bit of a hillbilly hitch in the singing. 

Lee Hazelwood's "Lady Bird" is a moody, minor-keyed duet with a gruff-voiced gent simply credited as "Jerry A" that features some hip pedal steel adding to the texture, "Hot as the Desert" sways'n'shimmers lazily like the desert sun, "The Note" is a proper country weeper complete with sympathetic pedal steel and regretful lyrics, "Carry Me Home" is backed by a waltz-tempo with more catchy guitar licks, the pedal steel makes a welcome return and highlights "Goodbye Lonely Me", they speed up a bit for "Rattlesnakes and Dogs" which again reminds me a little a Miami-era Gun Club in feel, while "No Good" is upbeat, rhythmically interesting and varied in an old-fashioned, acoustic, Americana, murder ballad kinda way - this might be my favorite from this record. 

After that we get another slow, 50's-ish sob'n'wail in "My Blue Heart", also nicely constructed with passionate guitar work, "Trouble With the Law" is an bouncy take on outlaw country and for the closer they choose Hank Williams' "You Win Again" that they put their own spin on.

The Spurs produce old school country but with an identifying twist to it - really good stuff and great live!