Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
Let's Leave This Town

(Lone Star)

Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
The Trouble with Humans

(Lone Star)

First Appeared at The Music Box, December 2003, Volume 10, #12

Written by T.J. Simon

Chip Taylor is the younger brother of actor Jon Voight, which makes him the uncle of Angelina Jolie and the ex-uncle-in-law of Billy Bob Thorton. He is also a gazillionaire from writing hit songs for other people, most notably Wild Thing (recorded by The Troggs, et al.) and Angel of the Morning (recorded by Juice Newton and Shaggy). At the 2001 South-by-Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas, the 63-year-old Taylor met a young fiddler named Carrie Rodriguez, a woman with a classic country voice and the ability to make magic with her violin. Taylor hired her as an accompanist on his subsequent European tour, which inspired him to whip up some country duets in the tradition of John Prine’s In Spite of Ourselves. And two albums later, they continue to be an unlikely dynamic duo.

The appeal of the collaborations between Taylor and Rodriguez is the dichotomy of their vocal styles. Rodriguez sounds young and vibrant with a voice reminiscent of Kasey Chambers or a perky Lucinda Williams. Taylor, on the other hand, sounds old and weary (in a good way) with a voice somewhere between Willie Nelson and John Prine. Their first joint release Let’s Leave This Town kicks off with Sweet Tequila Blues, the first of a dozen affectionate country duets. The lyrics crafted by Taylor feature a nice back and forth cadence that, while sung, carry a conversational tone, and the strength of Taylor’s songwriting is counterbalanced perfectly by Rodriguez’s virtuoso fiddling. Her classically-trained violin adds heft to Taylor’s straightforward compositions including the jaunty Extra and the Celtic instrumental Midnight on the Water. The generational difference between the two must have presented a lyrical challenge to Taylor who succeeds in keeping the tone of his lyrics playful, affectionate, and bittersweet rather than tawdry and leering. All in all, Let’s Leave This Town proves to be a thoroughly enjoyable release.

The duo’s 2003 follow-up The Trouble with Humans features more of the same quality stuff heard on the its collaborative debut. This time around the songs are a little sadder and uniform in cadence, but they are no less stellar. From the sweetly somber opening track Don’t Speak in English to the mid-tempo Oh Ireland, Taylor’s lyrics capture everything that’s good about American country music. There’s still not a bad song on the album although a couple of the ballads have a bit of trouble getting off the ground, particularly the title track and I Need a Wall. The disc ends with a comical hidden cut criticizing the current state of affairs in the music industry proving that even when goofing off, Taylor and Rodriguez sound better than many artists’ most valiant efforts.

Let's Leave This Town —

The Trouble with Humans —

Let's Leave This Town is available
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The Trouble with Humans is available
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For Canadian orders, please Click Here!

For UK orders, please Click Here!

Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2003 The Music Box