Transcendental
New album by local singer-songwriter plumbs lives of hard-pressed rural folk trying to get higher
Stephen Simmons titled his new album Last Call (Locke Creek Records) because many of his characters have heard those words in two places: at closing time in nightclubs, when, as in the title track, a bartender calls out "last call for all you sinners"; and at the end of church, when the preacher makes the same plea. What Simmons does so well—with songs like "Baptism," "Sweet Salvation," "Dirty Side of Me" and "Forgive Me Father"—is portray individuals in search of transcendence but caught in internal conflict. He's also good at depicting how one bad choice, or a series of them, can bring down all the good that came before it.
A native of Woodbury, Tenn., Simmons was raised in a Church of Christ family of factory workers and farmers, and he draws on that background to examine the moral conflicts of impoverished country folk torn between their religious upbringing and carnal impulses.
Last Call balances gentle acoustic arrangments with rough-edged, guitar-driven roots rockers. Produced by Eric Fritsch, these songs are built around the sensitive rhythm section of bassist Dave Jacques and drummer (and Scene contributor) Paul Griffith, augmented by esteemed accompanists like steel player Paul Niehaus, guitarists Kenny Vaughn and Mike McAdam, and harmony singer Wendy Newcomer.
These outstanding musicians prove their worth by how unobtrusively they add to Simmons' songs. Nevertheless, it's the stories that stick, such as the bored young pranksters who bedevil a farmer until violence changes all of their lives, and the state trooper who ignores some childhood friends who cook up crystal meth in an out-of-the-way trailer, only to find his teen son O.D.'d on their product.
At his best, Simmons is as good as heartland songwriters like Steve Earle, Robert Earl Keen, Chris Knight and R.B. Morris, all of whom he calls to mind at times, even though his voice and lyrics have a potent punch distinctly his own.
Simmons plays Aug. 2 at 3rd & Lindsley and Aug. 4 at The Sutler.
—Michael McCall
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