Singer-songwriter and guitar master Jeff Plankenhorn, valued sideman for Ray Wylie Hubbard, Joe Ely, the late Jimmy LaFave and so many others, returns with his fourth solo album, Alone at Sea, his first one with a distinctly non-Texas feel. One look at the liners and you’ll not only notice Colin Linden’s presence as producer, mixer, and guitar companion on nine of the ten tracks, but Linden’s wife, Janice Powers, is the production assistant. Comprising the rhythm section are longtime collaborators of Linden and Steve Dawson, both of whom split their time between Canada and Nashville, where the album was recorded. Yes, it turns out that Plankenhorn has recently relocated to Vancouver Island. For his followers, who have long associated him with Austin where he resided for twenty years, this is quite a change, and aptly the sonic territory is also new, still bluesy in a few spots but leaning more into a folk vernacular. His vocals here take precedence over his guitar mastery.
Plankenhorn hasn’t completely left Austin behind however, penning two songs with his buddy in Purgatory Players, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, others with Gabriel Rhodes and Michael Fracasso, and paying tribute to the late former Faces/Small Faces/Rolling Stones keyboardist Ian McLagan, another long-term Austin resident with “Juggling Sand.” Plankenhorn plays his now legendary electric lap steel, “The Plank,” on just one track, opting for an acoustic Oahu lap steel (4 tracks), as well as acoustic guitar (4 tracks) and piano and electric guitar for one track each. The supporting band has drummers George Recelli, Jerry Roe or Gary Craig, bassist John Dymond, multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke, and Powers on B3 for two tracks.
The opener, the gentle, spare “Bird Out on 9th” the collaboration with Rhodes and Fracasso, like much of the album traces to the demos Linden heard with Plank’s acoustic guitar and lap steel which to which he added his electric guitar parts. The famed hybrid lap-steel “The Plank” imbues the up-tempo Newcomb co-written “May It’s Not Too Late,” which nods slightly to the gospel sacred steel tradition. The title track likely traces to the peace Plankenhorn has found in his new locale, as the protagonist learns to appreciate solitude rather than the desperation of being alone. It’s one “Plank” plans to offer in Spanish and French versions in a subsequent release in November. After that breather, we’re back to another upbeat tune, “Do a Little Dancing.” Recelli’s insistent beats, Linden’s electric, and Hoke’s horns color this booty shaker. “The Mess” is a self-deprecating tune, sung and practically shouted with extra verve and punctuated with a strong acoustic guitar break. “Bluer Skies,” one of two written with Michael O’Connor, is a lush, uplifting mostly acoustic tune with the refrain “Come fly with me to bluer skies.”
The choogling, crunchy “Flat Tire,” penned with Newcomb, has Plank making light of a tough situation. One can practically envision the crowd at Austin’s famed Saxon Pub singing along to the chorus. Plank’s sensitive side is on display in “You’ll Stay.” He takes to the piano for the last two, the aforementioned “Juggling Sand” where he conjures a bit of that Faces vibe, and the closer, a collaboration with Linden – “Keep Me On Your Mind,” another in the yearning, romantic camp.
Plankenhorn is not as easily pegged this time, indicative of an artist willing to venture into new turf but yet the brighter moments have staying power.