Tied to the Wheel
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
No guitar hero this side of Junior Brown has celebrated the bonds between the long-distance trucker and the road-warrior musician better than Bill Kirchen. After cutting his teeth in the 1970s with Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, Kirchen brings his career full circle on this truck-friendly collection. He wrote the album-opening "Truck Stop at the End of the World" with Cody, enlisted fellow Airman alumnus Bobby Black on steel guitar, and returned to the songbook of Blackie ("Mama Hated Diesels") Farrell for a pair of album highlights. Yet there's more to Kirchen's music than truckin', a range he displays on the album's honky-tonk duet of "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke," with the Seldom Scene's Dudley Connell, and a majestic rendition of Bob Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," a showcase for Kirchen's soaring guitar. --Don McLeese
Tied to the Wheel,Bill Kirchen,Hightone Records,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop
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Tied to the Wheel
Bill Kirchen Manufacturer: Hightone Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
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Alt-Country & Americana
| Country
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General
| Rock
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Country Rock
| Rock
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Pop Rock
| Pop
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ASIN: B00005MLWD Release Date: 2001-08-21 |
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Amazon.com
No guitar hero this side of Junior Brown has celebrated the bonds between the long-distance trucker and the road-warrior musician better than Bill Kirchen. After cutting his teeth in the 1970s with Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, Kirchen brings his career full circle on this truck-friendly collection. He wrote the album-opening "Truck Stop at the End of the World" with Cody, enlisted fellow Airman alumnus Bobby Black on steel guitar, and returned to the songbook of Blackie ("Mama Hated Diesels") Farrell for a pair of album highlights. Yet there's more to Kirchen's music than truckin', a range he displays on the album's honky-tonk duet of "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke," with the Seldom Scene's Dudley Connell, and a majestic rendition of Bob Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," a showcase for Kirchen's soaring guitar. --Don McLeeseCustomer Reviews:
Jam the gears and clean your ears..........2001-12-15
Tied to this CD.......2001-12-03
Terrific return to roots of Lost Planet Airmen + more.......2001-09-07
His latest, featuring a band anchored by touring partners, bassist Johnny Castle and drummer Jack O'Dell, is a perfect example of his work. He invokes the 'dieselbilly' eclecticism that fueled the Airmen's earliest records with a vitality that's untouched by nostalgic hangover. The apocalyptic "Truck Stop at the End of the World," penned with Commander Cody in the mid-80s, drives lead, with a loving rendition of the Red Simpson's "Roll Truck Roll" and several new tunes filling out the convoy. "Hillbilly Truck Drivin' Man" cruises the interstates with Elvis on the dash and Bill Mack on the radio, while "Tied to the Wheel" reflects on the difficulties of a life that's literally lived on the road. Kirchen stretches out on the frets for "Poultry in Motion," and ex-Airmen Bobby Black contributes terrific steel guitar on several tracks.
A pair of titles from Blackie Farrell (who penned "Mama Hated Diesels" for the Airmen in 1972) and covers of Joe Maphis' "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke," Tommy Collins' (by way of Merle Haggard) "Prison Band," and Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" fill out a superbly crafted album.
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