Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The horns. Anyone that has heard Lucero’s new album (and their major label debut), 1372 Overton Park, has an opinion on the issue and I have been sitting on the fence. I like the fact that they are paying homage to their hometown of Memphis and the trademark sound that put it on the music map. After numerous listens, I see the horns as a nice addition to the continuing growth of the Lucero sound.
The tunes where the horns play a less prominent role are my current favorites. On “Can’t Feel A Thing,” the band dials it back while Ben channels his inner Bruce. When I reviewed Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers a few years back I noticed that the band had some similarities to The Boss. That influence continues to shine through here and on “Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble.”
And while the slower tunes were the ones to hook me immediately, the boys have a number of premium rockers throughout the album. “Sounds Of The City” shows where the horns and keys polish the older Lucero sound to perfection. Then after the hoo-hah about the horns and major label debut, Ben delivers a knockout closer in the sensitive ballad, “Mom.” In the same spirit as “The War” off of Nobody’s Darlings, expect goosebumps every time Ben steps to the mic to sing this tune.
1372 Overton Park is an excellent album full of all the things that made you love Lucero in the first place. Do I think its as good as the gold standard of Lucero albums, Tennessee? Not quite yet, but who knows what time will do to change my mind.
We’re big fans of the NineBullets blog and they wrote up a great review while also providing the tracks below.
Lucero – The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo
Lucero – Darken My Door (Live)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
the Rolling Stones had horns on “Exile on Main Street” and were still rock and roll. This album and band are great – seeing them live tomorrow. Any doubters on the horns should listen to the NPR stream of their World Cafe Performance in Philly.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113838323
Saw Lucero last night in Toronto. They are touring with two sax players. The sound was fantastic, and in all of the songs the saxes were less pronounced than on the record – how I imagine the album should have been recorded. Fantastic show. 29 songs in two hours, including songs from Ben’s solo album. I’ll have a review on my blog soon.
The horns took time to grow on me. I heard them on the first couple tracks and thought they would subside. I was a little turned off that they seemed to be included in every track. I love the album. Love the band…but still would love to hear an alternative recording of the entire album with no horns to compare to.
C’mon, horns make everything better! If you ever wondered what The Hold Steady would sound like playing with Muscle Shoals, well, here’s your answer.
Never heard of these guys, but definitely like what I hear.
I pretty much concur that my favorite tracks on this album are the onces with less horn and that are more like their older albums. That said, it’s a solid album that’s been on heavy rotation, but not the essence of why I love these guys.
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