Ronny Elliott is a quintessential journeyman rock ‘n’ roller, having kicked around for 30-plus years working with everyone from Chuck Berry and Jerry Jeff Walker to Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers. That sense of history is ingrained in his terrific new record.
Consider how he pulls off “Same Three Chords”, an anthem that celebrates rock ‘n’ roll. Been done before, countless times and, let’s face it, usually pretty ham-fistedly. Not here, though. Over a stripped-down arrangement driven by twangy guitar, Elliott notes, “It’s the same three chords and the joy they bring/It’s not black or white, that doesn’t mean a thing/It’s the hillbilly music and the blues they play/It’s the same three chords I’m playing today”. It’s stirring stuff.
The rest of the record is solid, too. Elliott’s not a great singer by any measure; he sounds a bit like Johnny Cash and virtually talks his way through some of these songs. But it’s a great collection of songs, and some are quite surprising. For example, he gets political on “The Dogs Of Havana”, which takes shots at both Fidel Castro and American right-wingers for the ongoing embargo against Cuba. “Heroes” name-drops everyone from Ghandi and Confucius to Captain Kangaroo and Billie Holiday. A bonus track recasts “The Twist” as an ominous blues.
