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Three such talented guys should make more interesting music than this. Butch Hancock, Joe Ely, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore are the cream of West Texas singer-songwriters, men who've made a dozen strong, thoughtful albums as solo artists. As The Flatlanders they began playing together in the early '70s but their only release that decade made little noise and they split to focus on their individual careers. When a compilation called More A Legend Than A Band was released in 1990 it brought attention to The Flatlanders beyond the cult of musicians and hipsters who cherished their sole release. Jump forward to 2002 and the trio regrouped to make a new studio album, Now Again, which like Wheels Of Fortune is slickly produced, middle-of-the-road country music; not quite modern Nashville but a far cry from their '70s heyday.
Unlike Gilmore's thematically and sonically exploratory Braver New World or the spare beauty of Hancock's 1978 debut, West Texas Waltzes, this relies more heavily on Ely's penchant for populist production and easy sing-a-longs. It's a shame because they have so much more to them as songwriters than their recorded output often indicates. Each possesses a tanned leather voice that's perfect for storytelling, especially effective when left unadorned and exposed. Wheels Of Fortune is pitched closer to the too busy, spotless production of recent Nanci Griffith and Mavericks albums, outings that disguise most of what's good about the performers. Far too much of this attempts to "rock" and just feels doughy and indistinct like a million bar bands that help keep Budweiser the King of Beers. What one wants from three old souls like Ely, Gilmore, and Hancock is a chair next to them as they strum unaccompanied guitars and help us figure out how life twists and turns like it does. Maybe the whole act of making records is too conscious for artists who've been at it for three decades. Mayhap the worry about radio play and concert venues and some little fiscal return infiltrates the whole process and makes everything too safe, too clean, too cozy. This record sets The Flatlanders up to open for Los Lobos or perhaps, more sadly, current mainstream radio faves Los Lonely Boys. They deserve better but then again so do their listeners.
Dennis Cook
JamBase | Oakland
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