Artist: BoDeans Album: Thirteen Bitrate: 243kbps avg Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz Label: Free & Alive Records Genre: Rock Size: 74.28 megs PlayTime: 0h 40min 34sec total Rip Date: 2017-05-13 Store Date: 2017-04-21 Track List: -------- 01. My Hometown 3:47 02. EvryBdy Wants 3:45 03. Nowhere Fast 4:01 04. I Get Low 3:34 05. Here Somehow 2:20 06. Maggie's Bar 4:19 07. Sway 3:31 08. Feels Like Home 3:52 09. Lucky Man 3:37 10. Headed Home 3:36 11. Way Back In TIme 4:12 Release Notes: -------- The release of BoDeansÆ Thirteen is coincidental with a resurgence of interest in the group, and its seminal American style, based on an association with the NetflixÆ The Ranch. Yet this record succeeds on its own terms because of the resonance of songs such as ôMy Hometown,ö while amplified by connection to the television series, is hardly reliant on it for meaning. Like the rest of this current work from a group once Slash RecordsÆ labelmates to the Blasters and Los Lobos, the aforementioned opening track is essentially the work of co-founder Kurt Neumann on all instruments and vocals, the last holdover from what was once a quartet. But this cut is notable on other fronts too; the quiet ring of piano by Steffano Intelisano, one of the two outside musicians here, distinguishes the performance and simultaneously sets an instrumental and thematic tone for Thirteen. Counterpoint vocals and straight-ahead drumming as on ôEvryBody Wantsö betray not a whit of the mechanical feel such solo recordings often display (no surprise: Neumann was originally a drummer). On the contrary, the mix of acoustic guitars and slow arching electric guitar lines of ôNowhere Fastö create a smooth fluidity that denotes a sensitivity to the song as much as the other playing in the mix, The albumÆs glossy packaging reflects the production polishûnot just on this track but those surrounding it as wellûwhile complete lyrics inside an enclosed booklet, are indicative of the overall craft within. The shot of an amplifier head on the gatefold is also an implicit symbol of the strength permeating the music of Thirteen. BoDeans played Americana before the category was conceived and Kurt Neumann does the groupÆs tradition proud here in his writing and recording. In fact, his work throughout, all the way to the mixing, is a testament to the fundamental subject matter of this material: an individualÆs search for purpose (ôNowhere Fastö) and a memorable means to express it (ôFeels Like Homeö). The resonant depth of the audio here, mastered by Adam Aryan, corresponds to the emotions in play from one number to the next. As befits a history of BoDeansÆ tunes used to great effect on television and in the movies, ôMaggieÆs Barö radiates a cinematic quality, not just in the imagery of its words, but the singing of Neumann; simultaneously resolute and world-weary, itÆs a perfectly understandable tone for a man whoÆs persevered through the multitude of personnel and project changes heÆs endured. The accompanying sound of Bukka AllenÆs accordion, melancholy and tuneful, adds to this pervasive atmosphere too. Along the same lines, the instrumental, ôSway,ö boasts an understated grace, an attribute that no doubt fuels the steadfast approach Kurt Neumann has employed over his thirty-plus years as a æBoDean.ö He has every right to be proud of the way heÆs maintained that virtue, particularly as it permeates Thirteen.