Whenever a rootsy county-rock review comes up it's time to make comparisons with the usual suspects - Parsons, The Band, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, even the Eagles, and err ... the local good ole' boys at Boss Hog's annual 4th of July pork rib roast. This hit and miss album covers all those bases and at least one other notable one, making it impossible to enjoy as a complete entity despite the obvious highs.

Four writers out of the five members of The John Henrys might be the cause of this inconsistency. Hailing from Ottawa, they've been together around five years and this is their second release, which seems to have achieved some niche success back home (but then press releases always say that I suppose). With a genre not noted for its progression far from familiar territory, it's all about the feel, atmosphere and musicianship - whether in drunken floppy-legged honky-tonking or (usually also drunken) intensely lonesome despair. Although easily getting a pass mark for the musicianship, this unwavering criteria makes them hard to take seriously once you've encountered the almost cartoon country of 'Padawadamie' and 'Ain't Gonna Drink No More' just a few tracks in. There are many people for whom the mere sound of a steel guitar is enough to put up the shutters when it comes to country-related music. To them I say, "You obviously haven't suffered enough in life", but my own personal line in the sand comes with the use of wa-wa peddle on a normal electric guitar. 'Padawadamie' plumbs the depths, and the following 'jovial' drinking song falls flat below pastiche to these ears. The almost identical upbeat skiffle with ponderous dum-dum bass of 'No More Rock'N'Roll' also fails later for the same reasons, if not quite as spectacularly. To finish dishing out the bad news in this one paragraph, there's a dull local gold rush story song long enough to outstay its welcome too - the type of traditional/folklore narrative you might expect given their name. See here for the legend of John Henry explained with effortless whirlwind mandolin from the one and only Bill Monroe. Cowboy hat connoisseurs should follow the link too. And while we're on an old master bluegrass kick, see here and here. See what I mean - it's all about the feel. Brilliant stuff from one of the best festivals on the planet. Maybe all that is indicative of how my mind is wandering away from the task in hand...

But, if you're still reading - here's the revelation. Mid way through they metamorphose into the Ramones covering the Byrds, i.e. basically the Long Ryders, with 'Thought Yourself Lucky'. This slice of late 60s west coast garage rock will knock you down dead and make you believe you've pressed shuffle rather than skip if unable to stick either of the preceding two tracks. Whisky-A-Go-Go revisited baby! And they do it again with 'Ugly Town' some time later if not with quite the same element of surprise (and yes it is Whisky not Whiskey). 'New Years' could easily be Ryan Adams rocking hard and punches above its weight with lyrics that for once bear more consideration, while a more sentimental and gentler side is exposed on 'Truth Be Told' - in perhaps a Jayhawks kind of harmonious style (but less boring as far as I'm concerned) over jangling guitar and sweet electric organ. The title track and most of the rest are straight up decent enough country rock, although unlikely to attract anyone not already predisposed to same.

So, to mix metaphors and desperately paraphrase, you could only possibly take this album to your heart if listening through beer-can headphones. But, the evidence is there that they can deliver. They just need to decide who they want to be - The Cardinals or the in-house band at Disneyland's Critter Country corner. In the words of one famous redneck (OK, I admit I may be trying too hard now), "What we've got here is ”¦ failure to communicate", but a lenient community service order is granted to this bunch of potential cool hands and ultimate judgement suspended until next time around.
53%

Download 3 tracks from The John Henrys here. Actually neither their best nor worst - some of the stock country rock tracks.

The John Henrys on MySpace