Robert Kidney – Elmore Magazine
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ADVERTISEMENT Search Elmore NEWS PREMIERES REVIEWS FEATURES CONTESTS PHOTOS MERCH ADVERTISE ADVERTISEMENT 90 Artist: Robert Kidney Album: Jackleg Label: Exit Stencil Release Date: 04/15/2016 BUY DIGITAL BUY PHYSICAL ALBUM REVIEWS Robert Kidney Jackleg Album Reviews | November 18th, 2016 Growing up in Northeast Ohio, Robert Kidney performed in schools and churches. While watching a friend strum guitar, Kidney realized he yearned to do the same. “The sound came across and hit me in the middle of the chest,” he recalls. “I knew immediately that learning how to play guitar was what I wanted.” He stuck with it, and went on to lead the avant-garde group the Numbers Band. Later, he set out as a solo folkie opening for Bruce Springsteen, Hound Dog Taylor and Tom Waits. His songs have been covered and recorded by Jack Bruce (Cream) and Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols). Recorded live at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY, Robert Kidney’s latest release Jackleg is an austere affair, stripped bare, down to the bone. Just a man in a room with his voice and his guitar. Ten tunes shimmer and brood somewhere between folk and blues, delivered in Kidney’s signature voice, at once gentle and ominous. “Big Paradise” perches on a spare riff like a crow on an old dead tree. Kidney croons dark, cryptic poetry. “There’s a dog off his collar, bent down. No man’ll catch him. Neither death nor the devil. So fast, so free. Straight on the line.” “Wolf” opens with bottleneck riffs that ricochet off of reverb. The stark nakedness of these recordings captures a raw intimacy. You can hear him shift in his chair as he
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Transcript of Robert Kidney – Elmore Magazine
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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NEWS PREMIERES REVIEWS FEATURES CONTESTS PHOTOS MERCH ADVERTISE
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
90Artist: Robert KidneyAlbum: JacklegLabel: Exit StencilRelease Date: 04/15/2016
BUY DIGITAL BUY PHYSICAL
ALBUM REVIEWS
Robert KidneyJacklegAlbum Reviews | November 18th, 2016
Growing up in Northeast Ohio, RobertKidney performed in schools and churches.While watching a friend strum guitar,Kidney realized he yearned to do the same.“The sound came across and hit me in themiddle of the chest,” he recalls. “I knewimmediately that learning how to playguitar was what I wanted.” He stuck with it,and went on to lead the avant-garde groupthe Numbers Band. Later, he set out as asolo folkie opening for Bruce Springsteen,Hound Dog Taylor and Tom Waits. Hissongs have been covered and recorded byJack Bruce (Cream) and Johnny Rotten (SexPistols).
Recorded live at Studio G in Brooklyn, NY,Robert Kidney’s latest release Jackleg is anaustere affair, stripped bare, down to thebone. Just a man in a room with his voice and his guitar. Ten tunes shimmer and broodsomewhere between folk and blues, delivered in Kidney’s signature voice, at oncegentle and ominous.
“Big Paradise” perches on a spare riff like a crow on an old dead tree. Kidney croonsdark, cryptic poetry. “There’s a dog off his collar, bent down. No man’ll catch him.Neither death nor the devil. So fast, so free. Straight on the line.”
“Wolf” opens with bottleneck riffs that ricochet off of reverb. The stark nakedness ofthese recordings captures a raw intimacy. You can hear him shift in his chair as he
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declares, “I know, I was a man made of shadow.”
Atonal chord choices and urgent enunciation distinguish Kidney’s work from what wetypically think of as blues or folk, more a precursor to punk, not rock ‘n’ roll. Within thesame verse, he can bellow like Muddy Waters and deadpan like Lou Reed.
What begins as a spoken word piece descends into dissonance in “Back To Disaster.”Kidney dryly delivers poetic verse: “Stand flat footed, caught, ready. My eyes are clear,and my hands are steady. I got the blood and the fire to make the night burn blue. Andif love don’t make it, lust will surely do.”
“Red Stick” cleverly plays with the words bayou and Baton Rouge. “I’m burning out, byyou. I’m gonna fade. It’s a dead-man’s run. And at the end there’s a coffin, and thenyou’re done. If there’s a good time somewhere, I’ll be having one. I’m going to RedStick.” There’s always a dark ending to Kidney’s tales, and here he finishes with therefrain “I’ll put you in a sack, throw you over my back, down the track. Clickety-clack.”
While well steeped in American roots, Robert Kidney’s music defies easy descriptionand rewards close listening. The structural simplicity of his songs belies a substantialstoryteller who spins dark yarns of passion, mystery and violence. From his early dayswith the Numbers Band to his recent solo work, Kidney is a singular artist dedicatedfirst and foremost to his craft. “The focus of my life is on music itself, not on its valueas a commodity,” he says.
Jackleg is a midnight road trip through the underbelly of the American psyche. Listenclose, you’ll hear the whisper of a poet with a knife.
-Mike Cobb
Watch Robert Kidney’s video for “Rosalee” HERE.
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