Tami Neilson: “Chickaboom!” (2020) CD Review

Tami Neilson is a glorious force on the music scene, with a voice that seems able to do just about anything. You can hear that range, that power on her new release, Chickaboom! This disc features all original material, most of it written or co-written by Tami Neilson, a lot of it dealing in one way or another with the profession of a musician. Joining her on this release are Jay Neilson on rhythm guitar and bass, Delaney Davidson on lead guitar, and Joe McCallum on drums, along with a few special guests on certain tracks. We are in need of some kick-ass female energy in this country, and Tami Neilson is here to provide it.

This disc opens with “Call Your Mama,” which quickly establishes a good, mean groove, preparing us for Tami Neilson’s regal entrance. Her voice has power, authority and attitude, a voice to whip us into shape, a voice to make eager masochists of us all. “I don’t got time to give my time of day.” She is clearly having a good time, and so are we. “Head in the clouds like you’re some kind of king.” That’s followed by “Hey, Bus Driver!” a fun tune that pops and swings. It’s a song of being a musician out on the road, and a song of heading home, missing that special someone. “Fall asleep looking at your picture/Wake up saying your name/Wringing tears out of my pillow, go, go going insane.” It’s a fun tune, but things get even better with “Ten Tonne Truck.” This one has a deliciously raw sound, a back porch sound, but where the porch is attached to a house of dancing demons. This one too is related to working as a musician. “Drove with nothin’ but our clothes and guitars/Right down to Nashville/Gonna be big stars.” Oh man, I love her delivery here, which is playful and yet also commanding. And that “ha ha ha ha” is great, full of confidence and somewhat demented. “When the pie gets bigger, everybody wants a slice/What I been cookin’ since back in ’89.” This track is a total delight.

“Queenie Queenie” is an interesting track, with the vocals backed by percussion. It’s an original tune, but it sounds like some classic childhood rhyme sung on dirt playgrounds, that sense helped by a couple of kids on backing vocals. It’s actually very cool. This one is also about being a musician: “Mama’s gotta hustle, do another show/‘Cause they won’t play a lady-o on country radio.” That’s followed by “You Were Mine,” which is my personal favorite. This one features a wonderful groove. And I love the way she belts out the lyrics, like some kind of voodoo sorceress, the power of the universe in her fingers. There is also some delicious percussion backing her as she gets wild, a sound that is classic and fucking fantastic. Oh yes, I love it when she is completely unleashed. She can take us all through concrete walls if she so desires. Brett Adams (who played on Tami Neilson’s Sassafrass!) is on lead guitar on this track.

On “16 Miles Of Chain,” Tami Neilson shows us that she rules over a twisted country realm. This is another of the disc’s strongest and most exciting tracks. What a cool sound the musicians create for this one. I particularly like that steady percussion. “Come on down from the roof, my dear, see what I have found/Into that chest that I love best, I pushed that black heart down.” This one was written by Tami Neilson and Delaney Davidson. Then “Tell Me That You Love Me” is lighter fare, a fast-moving and fun tune in which she demands “Tell me that you’ll kiss me and you’ll do it real slow.” Hey, who is anyone to deny this woman? Who would dare? Delaney Davidson provides some vocals on this track, making it a wild sort of duet.

Tami Neilson then turns to a sweeter number with “Any Fool With A Heart,” a genuine love song. “I tried to flirt, lipstick and skirts/But I don’t know the art.” Ah, it is crazy, but after all those earlier tracks, here she actually sounds somewhat vulnerable (it must be a trick). There is something endearing and beautiful about this song. Then she gives us a touch of gospel with “Sister Mavis.” “Make me moan, make me cry/Stand up and testify/Send for Sister Mavis, send for Sister Mavis.” The disc concludes with a lovely lullaby titled “Sleep,” the only track not written or co-written by Tami Neilson. It was composed by Delaney Davison, and is sweet and pretty. “Sleep, baby, sleep/Sleep away the heartache.”

CD Track List

1. Call Your Mama
2. Hey, Bus Driver!
3. Ten Tonne Truck
4. Queenie, Queenie
5. You Were Mine
6. 16 Miles Of Chain
7. Tell Me That You Love Me
8. Any Fool With A Heart
9. Sister Mavis
10. Sleep

Chickaboom! was released on February 14, 2020, a Valentine’s Day gift to the world. It is available on both CD and vinyl.