Too Slim and the Taildraggers Tales of Sin and Redemption(blues

TOO SLIM AND THE TAILDRAGGERS
TALES OF SIN AND REDEMPTION
Label VU Records Inc.
Orig Year 2003
Format: Mp3@320



This disc's title accurately describes its contents, which find guitarist/vocalist Tim "Too Slim" Langford dipping into both concepts with equal ferocity. His sly, whiskey-tinged vocals and lyrical yet blunt guitar can't help but be compared to early, pre-MTV fame ZZ Top, especially when he's getting lecherous on "Oven Burning Woman" ("she really likes my wood"), the self-explanatory, double entendre "Broad Minded," and "Some Kinda' Momma" ("I'd like to make a momma outta you," he snarls). While this reads as misogynistic fare, Too Slim, like Top's Billy Gibbons, sings with such a sly, self-deprecating grin, it's impossible not to get caught up in the good-time vibe. On the redemption side is "Walk on Water" that recalls Slim's alcoholic past, the cautionary "Mississippi Moon," where Slim gets scared straight after being chased by the devil's hounds, and "Soul Perspective," where he sees the light and finds his clear "soul perspective." There's no preaching involved as Slim sings the redemptive songs with a leer similar to the sinner ones, leading his rugged two-piece through stripped down, raw, blues rocking licks as if he invented them. While subtlety is not generally a word associated with this outfit, nothing is overstated, either musically or vocally as Slim moseys through the songs with a low-key yet contagious lackadaisical charm that's consistently endearing. He never overplays his guitar either, sort of an anomaly for a three-piece rock band, preferring to let the tunes speak for themselves which they do quite well, even eloquently.



1. Walk On Water 4:32
2. Brown Bottle Rock 3:34
3. Oven Burnin' Woman 3:57
4. Mississippi Moon 5:18
5. Wish I Was Fishin' 6:25
6. Soul Perspective 4:25
7. Some Kinda' Momma 3:32
8. Broad Minded 5:07
9. Missed That Train 4:30
10. Flatblack Flathead 4:35
11. Too Cool 5:53