Merle Jagger is a country trio from Los Angeles. It’s easy to assume that part of the band’s name is a tribute to Haggard. It is, in fact, a tribute to Merle Travis, who is widely regarded as one of the best pickers ever to play a guitar. It makes sense, when you hear guitarist Mark Christian play. He certainly is no slouch himself.
On the band’s previous album Rancho Los Angeles, Merle Jagger played blistering instrumentals that sounded like what might happen if Deke Dickerson joined Dixie Dregs. While the songs didn’t have any lyrics to sing along with, they gave you plenty of opportunities to dance. In fact, you kind of have to assign a unique description to them: honky-tonk boogie is the perfect description for it.
While the band members certainly displayed their talent, they found that instrumentals didn’t necessarily bring in the crowds they hoped for. On the band’s new album Trash Talking Guitars, Mark Christian adds vocals to his duties as guitarist. The album was produced by Michael Dumas, who worked with Dwight Yoakam on his early records. Dumas helped to bring out a style that the band calls “ranch rock”. Of the new album, Christian said, “My vision for Trash Talking Guitars was drawn from my love for the country, rock, and country/rock sounds of the ’70s.”
The idea to add vocals was a good one as the band shows they are pretty adept in writing songs that are easy to sing. “Broken Home Yard Sale” is a rocking song that has some of the energy of Pat Todd and The Rankoutsiders and some of the revenge that has long made country music great. In it, Christian sings about having a yard sale with items that a certain someone bought with his credit card. You can’t help but sing along to the chorus when he sings, “Everything I bought for her has got to go. All those memories are half-price for the taking. Buy one now and put it back in a happy home.”
“Another Bar to Cry In” is another song that’s easy to sing along with. This is a swinging honky-tonk song that brings Mike Stinson to mind. The song is filled with lines like, “Every jukebox song winds a weeping melody ‘bout the story of my life. What Have I become? Where is that man I used to be?” This is the sort of song that will have you looking for a dance partner.
“Pour Me a Drink” is another honky-tonk song that is reminiscent of classic artists like Johnny Bush both in sound and theme. Christian begins the song by singing, “Pour me a drink on Monday.” It doesn’t take long to realize that this is the kind of song that gets people moving around a dance floor as they sing along with “One day at a time, I’ll be drinking to forget you.”
The album closes with two songs that are noteworthy. One is a cover of “Blue Moon of Kentucky” that is quite a bit less bluegrass than the original. The rhythm section keeps a tempo that is sure to get you moving. It may not sound like bluegrass guitar, but like bluegrass musicians have always done, Christian does a little showing off of his capabilities on the guitar with some picking that would make guitar players envious. The final song on the album is “Ranch Rock Revival,” a return to the band’s instrumental roots. This is another one propelled by the rhythm section while Christian does some mean picking on the guitar. All of the musicians do a bit of showing off at the end, with Johnny Ray playing the drums like he’s in a battle on some old-time TV show while Nick Zingraf lays down a bass line that keeps up with the rapid-fire guitar.
Trash Talking Guitars by Merle Jagger is an album of true honky-tonk songs that get you moving and singing. Not only is it a breath of fresh air from the pop country that comes out of Nashville, but it also might get you to update your list of favorite country songs.
