6 String Drag: Roots Rock ‘N’ Roll

6 String Drag
Roots Rock ‘N’ Roll
(Royal Potato Family)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

After an 18 year (!) layoff, even diehard fans of the North Carolina Americana outfit 6 String Drag weren’t exactly aggressively campaigning for the band to regroup. After all, their 1997 Steve Earle produced High Hat release didn’t exactly set the charts on fire, nor has its quality transcended the decades. That’s no indication of the quartet’s obvious talents to mesh country, classic R&B and rock and roll or frontman Kenny Roby’s knack for hooks and distinctive, husky voice. That said, it’s great to have them back and in fine form on this typically eclectic album.

Roby has written eleven quality songs, many of which capture the freewheeling, frisky and carefree sounds of the titular roots rock and roll that first lit his musical fires. You won’t need to spend time referencing his influences;a bit of Buddy Holly here (“Drive Around Town”), some Little Richard there (“Oooeeoooeeooo”), a dab of old, cool Elvis (“Happier Times”) and a whole bunch of early Beatles in the harmonies and general arrangements of these sweet gems. His Southern upbringing is obvious in the slide guitar of “Sylvia” and titles such as “King of Getting it Wrong” or “I Miss the Drive-In” show that Roby yearns for the simpler times of his youth.

The singer-songwriter, who has released a handful of solo albums throughout the years, sounds rejuvenated to be playing with his old buddies again, a fact borne out by these easy rolling melodies and Roby’s cool, Elvis Costello-styled vocals. The disc was recorded live in the studio in four days, which included bringing in a horn section for about half the tracks. While the abbreviated schedule might have been due more to necessity and economics than artistic aspirations, the results capture the smiles that most certainly were plastered on the faces of the participants as the tapes rolled.

Those who remember 6 String Drag like Patterson Hood (who provides a glowing recommendation in the band’s press kit) will be thrilled with this terrific, unexpected return. But even the many who never got to experience the band in their prime the first time around will enjoy this wonderfully exuberant and spirited release that stands on its own just fine.