In addition to a place on the year-end list, some artists end up with a place in the heart. A special spot is reserved for those who not only drift into radar range unexpectedly but also have to jump up and down and wave their arms to get noticed once they get there. J.P. Olsen, Joe West, and Dan Montgomery (to name just three folks who went from know-absolutely-nothing-about to top-ten over the course of roughly a dozen songs), meet Scotland Barr. And slide over a little.
Sure, Barr has a name that’s launched a thousand “Stewart’s Pub” jokes. But he also possesses a songwriting perspective that’s as comfortable traveling inward (hearts and minds are a specialty) as it is road-tripping to the Vatican, as in “Heart Of Rome”, the epic centerpiece of All The Great Aviators Agree. That song and its Aviators kindred spirit “Don’t Get So Heavy” carry the same musical tone and mysterious profundity as such favorites as Warren Zevon’s “Mohammed’s Radio” and the immortal “The Weight”. Something important is going on, but you can’t quite put your finger on just what it is.
Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags perform “Heart Of Rome” live.
Those two cuts, when placed alongside the story-song “Mexican Blanket”, the bittersweet “Come To Bed” and the knowingly self-destructive “The Burden”, showcase Barr’s range as a writer. Equally rangy is the music that accompanies the words. It wanders from country-rock to soul-informed pub-rock – from Gram to Graham, if you prefer – with stops at what seems like every honky-tonk and pub on the Americana trail from the Pacific northwest to Austin, Texas. It’s a sound that Barr, borrowing from Kurt Vonnegut, describes as “unstuck in time.” Yeah, the work of Scotland Barr & the Slow Drags is roots-rock at heart, but it’s a heart that’s clearly free to wander.
