Monte Warden is someone who has been around the Austin music scene for 40 years, ranging from his time with The Wagoneers to the time that George Strait recorded a song by Warden. He has consistently worked in the Americana realm, but not necessarily in the way you’d expect, and his style isn’t alt-country or that sort of Americana. No, Warden is a lesson in why shouldn’t judge a book by its cover – something parents have been telling their children forever.
If you were to look at the album cover of the self-titled Monte Warden and The Dangerous Few, you might assume that this is a rockabilly band. Certainly the guitar, upright bass, and drums are enough to give you that idea. However, there are other facets to this band that are not rockabilly: the horns and piano. Therein is the lesson that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
Instead of sounding like a rockabilly band, this one leans much closer to the swing of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. “Martini” for instance is similar not only in sound but also in theme to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. It’s pretty easy to imagine Trent and the other guys from Swingers digging this tune in some L.A. club that you have to enter through the alley. While it is a great song to put early in the album, it is actually pretty atypical for the album as a whole. Most of the songs are more for slow dancing than for getting all sweaty while swing dancing. “Missing Us Most of All” and “Anything but Love” are both songs that you might expect to hear in the middle of a set when the band wants to give itself a bit of a breather.
Even when you think the band might deliver something more on the rock side, it stays pretty true to its jazzy sounds. “Schadenfreude” is a great example. At the beginning of the song, you hear Warden count off in a low growl of a voice. It sounds like the beginning of a JD McPherson song. However, then you hear the trumpet and the piano, and it sounds like the kind of song you would hear in a jazz club where everyone is well dressed and moving on the dance floor.
It is impressive that this band manages to produce such a rich sound with just guitar, bass, drums, horns, and piano. At times, it really sounds like a big band. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that this album was recorded live in two days. The sound produced is enough to make you feel like you are in some smoky jazz club seeing this band perform live.
This album – much like Squirrel Nut Zippers – is a pleasant anachronism. It’s a tip of the hat to swinging big bands while incorporating a decent amount of rock and roll.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqSITrWQXaI
Photo credit: Sean Mathis
