Reckless Kelly
Under the Table and Above the Sun
(Sugar Hill)
First Appeared at The Music Box, August 2003, Volume 10, #8
Written by John Metzger
The liner notes to Under the Table & Above the Sun, Reckless Kelly’s debut for Sugar Hill Records, begin like this:
The Problem: Pre-teen, pre-packaged, pretentious, industry-driven, corporate sponsored, tasteless, soulless, cyborg, music that surrounds our lives and crowds our ears. There is no escape. And no one is to blame. Radio says, "It’s the record companies." Record companies point the same accusing finger at the sampling groups. Sampling groups? Please. Demographics? Stop.
The Solution: Music made by players. Lyrics written by poets. Songs that split atoms. Sounds that still shake the rafters long after last call.
It’s bold statement that sets the stakes high. A look at who wrote it — Robert Earl Keen — raises the bar even higher.
While Under the Table & Above the Sun isn’t groundbreaking enough to save the future of music, it is a fine album, nonetheless, living up to the hype within Keen’s lavish words of praise. Throughout the outing, the group, led by brothers Cody and Willy Braun, incorporates a vast array of sounds — banjo, bouzouki, sitar, dobro, piano, and a variety of guitars, mandolins, and percussion instruments — to form an intriguing sonic landscape. The lyrics are first-rate musings on life, love, outlaws, girlfriends, and The Beatles, and the melodies are infectious enough to draw in the listener, but not so contagious as to wear out their welcome all that quickly — if at all.
Ironically, Under the Table & Above the Sun’s biggest downfall,
however, is also what makes it such an enjoyable suite of songs. It’s not
entirely original, but its pilfered atmospheres are replicated perfectly under
the guiding hand of Ray Kennedy, who, of course, is one-half of the twangtrust —
the production duo whose other half is none other than Steve Earle. Indeed, if
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Earle ought to be mighty
pleased. Reckless Kelly does such a terrific job at appropriating his style that
those not privy to knowing the name of the group that recorded the album might
think it’s some long lost outing from Earle’s days as a country renegade. That’s
not a bad thing either, and Under the Table & Above the Sun clearly
demonstrates without a doubt that Reckless Kelly is a band to watch because it
will go far. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy because alt-country doesn’t get
much better than this. 
Under the Table and Above the Sun is available
from Barnes & Noble. To order, 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