For a brief time in 2006-2008, Watermelon Slim was the flavor of the
month in blues. He released three successful albums—Watermelon
Slim and the Workers (2006), The Wheel Man (2007) and No
Paid Holidays (2008)—and walked off with some end of year
awards. His off-key Southern drawl and unpolished style seemed
refreshing. I managed to put aside my reservations about his
politically incorrect nickname when I heard his populist lyrics. But
then he released a couple of country CDs and seemed to disappear from
the blues scene. He's back with a new album of mostly blues. It
doesn't seem nearly as refreshing.
Watermelon Slim is William Homans, a retired truck driver from
Oklahoma City. He plays the harmonica and slide guitar with a great
deal of enthusiasm and not inconsiderable skill. His music is a
mixture of blues, country and gospel. The present album contains six
covers and ten originals, nine of which are written by Slim. The
tenth, a harp-guitar instrumental, “The Wobble,” was penned
by drummer Michael Newberry.
He leads off the album with a spirited version of Junior Wells'
“Tomorrow Night,” which features his most nuanced harp solo. Here is a less polished version from a 2010 performance.
He covers Slim Harpo's two best-known songs, “I'm a King Bee”
and “Scratch My Back,” without improving on them. Woody
Guthrie's “Vigilante Man” is done to a rock background and a
marching snare drum. The other two covers are a cappella
versions of the gospel song “Take My Mother Home” and a folk
song, “Northwest Passage.”
Slim's writing is inconsistent. The title tune is an up-tempo
variation on the standard, “Little Red Rooster,” in which Slim
tries to one-up the original's double entendre.
My favorite cut on the CD, “Blue Freightliner,” is musically almost a copy
of Junior Parker's “Mystery Train.” “Trucking Class,” in
which Slim's defends the honor of truck drivers against the criticism
of an intellectual snob, is pure country in its lyrics and
accompaniment. “Prison Walls,” the only other cut posted on the
internet, is a typical inside-the-prison lament with a monotonous
rock background.
Two political songs, “A Wrench in the Machine” and “Foreign
Policy Blues” also suffer from overloud backgrounds which overwhelm
some of the lyrics. The same could be said for the trivial “I
Ain't Whistlin' Dixie.”
The brown cloud that hangs over the entire proceedings is Slim's
vocals. The embarrassment is most evident on “Over the Horizon,” a
country ballad in which Slim duets with Danielle Schnebelen to honky tonk piano accompaniment by Dennis Borycki. It's a nice piece
of writing about a couple no longer in love but afraid to abandon
their security for an unknown future, but Slim ruins it with his
off-key singing. (But thanks for not changing your name, Danielle.)
As noted, Slim had the courage to tackle two songs a cappella.
His pitch is steadier on “Take My Mother Home,” which is more
comfortably within his range, but I couldn't stomach the sanctimonious
lyrics. On “Northwest Passage,” he is lost in the wilderness in
a song that seems to go on forever. “Words Are Coming to an End,”
the closing ballad with acoustic accompaniment by Gary Nicholson, is
Slim's take on mortality. It manages to be gloomy without being
enlightening.
I haven't been listening to Slim in recent years, but he hasn't
changed much. There are some good moments on this CD, but overall I can't recommend it. What seemed novel seven years ago now
makes me wonder what I could have been thinking.
Tracks:
Tomorrow Night; Bull Goose Rooster; Over the Horizon; Vigilante Man;
A Wrench in the Machine; I'm a King Bee; Prison Walls; Blue
Freightliner; Scratch My Back; I Ain't Whistlin' Dixie; Take My
Mother Home; The Wobble; Trucking Class; Northwest Passage; The
Foreign Policy Blues; Words Are Coming to an End. (62 min.).
Personnel:
Watermelon Slim, vocals,
harmonica, slide guitar; Ronnie “Mack” McMullen, guitar; Cliff
Belcher, bass; Michael Newberry, drums; Dennis Borycki, piano (1
track); Ike Lamb, guitar (1 track); Gary Nicholson, guitar (1 track);
Danielle Schnebelen, vocal (1 track).
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