The album opens with its title
track, “Rest Heavy,” and I am on board immediately. I can’t help but love this
song’s classic soul sound, and Chad’s vocals really are in line with some of
those great 1960s soul numbers. And, hey, it’s a love song, with lyrics about
meeting that special someone. “I was so
lost before that day/Now with you I know the way.” This track features some
really nice work on guitar, plus some great touches on harmonica. “How can we live apart when my heart stays
with you?” Good question. The harmonica plays a prominent role right from
the start on “Shy Of Shameless,” a tune with a catchy groove and a good dose of
blues. And yeah, I can’t help but prick up my ears when Massachusetts is
mentioned in a song (I’ve been living in L.A. for two decades, but
Massachusetts is still home, you know?). In this song, we get the lines “And I’m on my way/To some Massachusetts
town/Well, I woke up shy of shameless/And now nothing can get me down.” And
I dig the smile in his voice on the line “We
were pretty hard to ignore.” There is some good stuff on keys, and then,
holy moly, halfway through the track, the music reaches another level with the
addition of horn. Yes, this track just becomes more fun as it goes.
We then go more into country
territory with “Hills Of Tennessee.” However, the horn keeps it from straying
completely into that land, and gives the song just a bit of a New Orleans
flavor. This song has a fun vibe too, a kind of light attitude, with more nice
work on keys. “Cadillac Problems, Buick Times” has a playful title and a sound
to match it. This one has a cool, jazzy, smoky vibe, in large part because of
that delicious rhythm on bass and drums, but of course also because of that
wonderful stuff on trumpet. It opens with these lines: “You got your big degree, but you still can’t pay the rent/Would someone
tell me just where my money went?” Yup, that’s just about right. “And the rich
get rich, and the poor end up on the floor.” There are several lines that had
me smiling, even laughing at times. It’s good to be able to laugh at our
troubles, don’t you agree? The horn gets the last word here, as it most
certainly should.
“Alberta” starts off more in
the folk realm, and develops into a powerful and moving number. Chad makes this
one breathe, sometimes pulling us in close by creating an intimate space, and
sometimes really belting out the lines, like he’s reaching out to whatever
force shapes the universe. This is a surprisingly glorious song. “Alberta, I am home again/Long enough to see
all my sad mistakes/Oh, long enough to see that it all turned out the way it
was supposed to.” “Dirty
River/Catfish Blues” is a playful number with something of a loose, back porch
vibe. It also features some good work on harmonica. The line “I can’t sink and I can’t swim” reminds
of that line from the Grateful Dead’s “Ship Of Fools”: “And all that could not sink or swim was just left there to float.” “Water
Under The Bridge” eases in, and has a lot of soul. I dig that organ. The album
then concludes with its sole cover, a seriously cool rendition of “St. James
Infirmary.” Everything is working just perfectly here – his vocals, the rhythm,
and of course the horn. There is something delightfully dangerous here, you
know, like with a dash of voodoo mixed in with the gin, and Chad is the mad
doctor administering this wild concoction to us willing patients. Then toward
the end there is suddenly a bass solo, followed by a drum solo. Excellent.
CD Track List
- Rest Heavy
- Shy Of Shameless
- Hills Of Tennessee
- Shining Stars
- Cadillac Problems, Buick Times
- Alberta
- Slow Again
- Dirty River/Catfish Blues
- Embarcadero Street
- Water Under The Bridge
- St. James Infirmary
Rest Heavy: The Sun Studio Sessions was released on August 10,
2018.
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