Seasick Steve – I Started Off With Nothin' And I Still Got Most of It Left

Just over two years ago Steve Wold played his first UK show to about 20 people on a cold night at the 12 Bar Club. Last week he headlined a packed out Albert Hall. He said he was surprised they even let him in. Between these two events it seems Steve has played every festival under the sun, and charmed pretty much everybody he came into contact with. He has also been given more column inches in the ‘serious' music press than pretty much any other band I can think of (apart from that one who gave their record away for 'free'). His back story is one that has captured the imagination, even if people do tend to think he crawled out from under a rock just before he appeared on ‘Later...'. In fact, it has been a long while now since Steve rode the bumpers. Just check out the production credits for Modest Mouse's first record back in 1996. Still, the concept of the freedom from responsibility of riding the tracks, and tales of his life resonated in a time where so many feel trapped. For sure the backlash has begun in some quarters, but the fact remains that in the last two years Steve has bought ‘The Blues' back in to the public consciousness. Now more than ever, his tales of drinking, the freedom of the open road, love and loyalty are resonating with the general populous. The fact that his backstory plays perfectly to our romanticised view of America that has been fed to middle class muso's since they first picked up a tattered copy of ‘On the Road' doesn't hurt any, but, unlike so many artists today, Seasick Steve's music is strong enough to stand on it's own, backstory or no.Unlike previous effort Dog House Blues, I Started off with Nothin... is more of an ensemble piece. Not only does it include former ‘Level Devil' Dan Magnusson (who's similarity to Animal of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem in the live arena is remarkable. A case in point at the Albert Hall last week he could be seen playing the cymbal. With his FACE.), but Steve's new found fame and the Warner Brothers budget allows him to invite guests along, including KT Tunstall and more impressively a duet with Nick Cave and Grinderman on ‘Just Like A King', a stripped down riff on Slim Harpo's ‘I'm A King Bee'. Unlike his previous efforts, here Steve's live bonhomie really comes across, particularly in the explanation of ‘hobo terms' at the beginning of ‘St. Lois Slim'. The new band sound probably works best on live favourite ‘Thunderbird', a tale of drinking cheap, tasteless wine, which struts along on another of Seasick's basic riffs before mutating into a full on Led Zepplin sized rock out towards the end, Magnusson coming into his own once again. That is not to say that the full band is always an enhancement of Steve's sound however. The inclusion in places of Gospel and soul singers (as on the title track and ‘Happy Man') doesn't add a whole lot to the record. When juxtaposed to the lilting solo piece ‘Walking Man', with Just Steve's voice and gentle guitar playing it feels overblown and out of place.Ultimately Seasick Steve is the latest in a long line of storytellers. Ever since Robert Johnson went down to the crossroads to sell his soul to the Devil, Bluesmen and women have been telling stories through their music. When left to stand for himself on album highlight ‘Chiggers', a tale of what to do if an insect lays it's eggs on you while your walking through a field I Started Off With Nothin' manages to capture the charm and charisma that has led so many to fall for him in the last few years. Long may it continue.Seasick Steve on MySpace