[rating=8.00]
Equal parts Tom Waits, Professor Longhair, Warren Zevon and Randy Newman, Texas-based pianist and singer-songwriter Harvey McLaughlin brings a bizarre set of tunes, zany attitude, and plenty of sarcasm on his first solo outing Tabloid News. McLaughlin is at heart a roots-rocker with punk sensibilities who seems less interested in musical mastery than he is creating thematic works. His piano and guitar playing are just part of the overall effect. He jokingly says, “I want to play the piano the way Link Wray plays the guitar.”
Thematically the album draws from McLaughlin’s fascination with pulp magazines and urban legends seen through the eyes of a young but weary romantic. He says, “I’ve made a career out of writing about dragons, ghost trains, dodo birds, banshee queens, chupacabras, and other such quasi-cryptic conundrums that seem to populate the fringes of our collective news consciousness…Back when everything you read in the newspaper was just as vibrant and believable as the word of mouth passed on the street, in a barber shop, or around a camp fire – when tall tales were the best kind of story formed currency.” Now you and I may remember those times, but McLaughlin is only 30 years old. Suffice it to say, he dug deep for his research and his lyric booklet replete with tabloid headlines and cartoon drawings perfectly reflects his statement.
McLaughlin hails from a blue-collar neighborhood of San Antonio and some recordings were done there as well as at Dale Watson’s Ameripolitan Studio in Austin. The juxtaposition of a semi-industrial area and nearby Air Force bases made a huge impression on him growing up and he drew inspiration from the ghost stories and urban lore that characterizes the city.
McLaughlin augments his piano trio with horns, guitars and background singers, depending on the track. All thirteen tracks are originals and it’s a mix of rocking piano with R&B and Chicano soul stylings that sometimes ventures into some vintage sounds such as “The Great Hihmoga Hotel Fire of 1893” which features a clarinet. Gleaning some of the other titles like “Bigfootsville,” “Last Call at the Dixie Pig,” and ‘Fiji Mermaid, Fade Away,” you immediately know he brings something unique.
The rather casual of the album belies the fact that it took some time to complete. It was originally slated as an untitled project for McLaughlin’s one-time guitar band The Bottom Feeders but Saustex label owner and album producer Jeff Smith eventually rejected that idea, ditched the garage bnd format, and gradually persuaded McLaughlin to take the piano trio approach. This necessitates a fair amount of rearranging, tightening up some new pieces, and getting the piano chops down. You might say that Mclaughlin reinvented himself.
When you put it all together, the number of artists that echo through this material run from Waits to Zevon to the ‘70s cheesy pop of Elton John mixed with New Orleans piano heroes and McLaughlin’s own heroes from the ‘50s -Big Joe Turner and Jerry Lee Lewis. Suggest you pull out the booklet and follow the lyrics upon your first listen. This is some crazy stuff.
