It takes some courage and gumption to make a blistering, vintage, all-out rock n’ roll record these days as many other genres have the edge in radio airplay and digital streaming. Luther Russell probably doesn’t care. He doesn’t offer classic rock (although he may someday fall into that category); he unleashes pure, straight ahead rock that captures earlier times with vivid imagery and a view from one who has lived through them. On Medium Cool Russell cranks up the amps and blasts out his feelings directly. Much of it is a lament, but the music wouldn’t clue that. And, that’s just half of it. There’s power pop too. Just listen up.
If you’ve been to L.A., Russell’s imagery will strike familiar visions right away. If not, he’ll paint some vivid pictures. There’s the souped-up Corvette Stingray with cheap thriller seekers aboard cruising down Van Nuys Blvd., trying to recapture 1978, only to find today’s scene of strip malls, bail bonds, and tech advertisements. This is made even more poignant by the image of the East Hollywood wall where so posters, bills, and flyers have lived and died. There is also the flickering memory of being lured into a dark noisy club by a girl you’ve been chasing, only to find that she’s in love with the drummer. In other words, these images and themes fit best in blaring rock n’ roll.
Russell says, “With these songs, I thought I could maybe capture the essence of growing up in the San Fernando Valley during the heyday of rock n’ roll radio.” Thus, there’s the drag-strip reverie of “Corvette Summer,” the multi-city shout-out “Have You Heard?” and the guitar shredding in “Can’t Be Sad” as just a few examples. The Ardent Studio Memphis power pop of Big Star finds its way into the mix too. After all, Russell also regularly works in Memphis in the duo Those Pretty Wrongs, with former Big Star drummer Jody Stephens. These strains emerge in the opener “Deep Feelings,” the jangling “Talkin’ to Myself,” and the rather futile plea to the downer of the party in “Sad Lady.”
Russell was buoyed by the critical and popular response to last year’s double CD Selective Memories – An Anthology. It re-energized the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who made this album quickly with the help of co-producer and bassist Jason Hiller. Derek Brown of the Eels holds down the rest of the rhythm section. Long-time pal Danny De LaMatyr sings harmonies, adding plenty of oohs and aahs, and Liam Hayes of Plush plays guitar on the elegy “Blue Balloon. The harmonies, especially in “The Sound of Rock & Roll,” combined with the jangling guitars evoke The Byrds. For the most part, though, it’s intentionally a rough, ragged mix.
This past November Russell released “The Sound of Rock & Roll” with the B-side that does not appear on the album, “Saturday’s Child.” The two offer clues into this album which Luther points to as the spirit of the record. “It’s about the power of youth and beauty. This is best exemplified in the opening lines to the former, “Well, we’re back in the beginning/Everybody’s laughing,joking/And she’s leaning on the lamppost/In a leather jacket, smoking”
You may not have a Corvette but be assured that when you crank this up, you may feel like you do.
