Bill Kirchen was one of the founding members of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. His twanging Telecaster licks are immediately identifiable on the band’s Top 10 hit “Hot Rod Lincoln,” and his style influenced a generation of twang-loving guitarists. Since leaving the Airmen in 1976, he has played innumerable gigs and sessions, starting a solo career about 1994. Tied to the Wheel is something like his sixth release, his third on Hightone.
This time out, Kirchen is playing as one-third of a trio, with Johnny Castle on bass and Jack O’Dell on drums, and both helping out on vocals. The theme is trucking songs, and Tied hits the high and low points of the genre.
Among the high points are a couple of honky-tonk numbers by Blackie Farrell (who contributes rhythm guitar to several tracks). “One More Hour of Blues” is a swinging take on the tear-in-your-beer song, and “Tryin’ to Turn Her Memory Off” is a high-octane rocker of similar theme. Kirchen co-wrote three of the songs: “Quit Feelin’ Sorry for You” is a hot western swing number with sweet steel from Bobby Black, and “Hillbilly Truck Driving Man” is a mid-tempo swinger with excellent bass vocals from Kirchen. The third is the opening track “Truck Stop at the End of the World,” co-written with George Frayne, otherwise known as Commander Cody.
Bill, Johnny and Jack turn in a nifty instrumental tune, “Poultry in Motion,” a guitar showcase that really rocks. A couple of songs penned by the great Tommy Collins are a mixed bag. “Roll Truck Roll,” written for Red Simpson, is one of those overly sentimental truckers’ songs, but “Prison Band,” covered by Merle Haggard early in his career, is more up to snuff. The title track is a soulful weeper with acoustic guitar and piano leading the way; not bad if you like that sort of thing.
The album ends with Dylan’s “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.” Instrumentally, it’s a gorgeous rocked-up thing, with lots of distortion on the guitar and more bass than on the rest of the record put together. Kirchen’s vocals aren’t convincingly rough enough, though. Maybe I’m just not used to being able to understand all the lyrics.
Tied to the Wheel isn’t really a concept album, but it hangs together thematically. And Tele-pickers don’t come much better than Kirchen. Give this one a spin as you head on down the blacktop, and it’ll keep you company for a good long while.
(Hightone, 2001)
