It sounds like it might be an outsized myth or wonderful exaggeration, but sometimes a perfect, timeless sound can only be made in one particular moment under a very specific set of circumstances. There really can be magic in a moment and it really could only happen once in a lifetime (because happening more than once may also result in a body count). The proof of that fact lies in the spaces between the thirteen songs which populate Night & Day by Andre Williams & The Sadies – an all-star jam which could have happened anytime, but much of which sounds the way it does because the tapes happened to be rolling at the right moments and caught something classic; no one can work to make this sound, nor can they hope to make it twice – the only hope they can make is that they caught it.
Those readers who don't think it's possible for a “remarkable, once-in-a-lifetime” moment to make an unrepeatable sound need to listen closely to “I Gotta Get Shorty Out Of Jail.” There (for those who know the history behind the sessions which yielded Night & Day), listeners will be able to hear the sense of relief in Williams' voice at having just dodged some jail time in court and the rough, raised grain caused by the raging party the night before the session which also saw the singer lose (and so have to sing without) his bottom plate of dentures. If you know that, it's impossible to miss the slight alteration in sibilance and vocal delivery which comes from a vocalist having a few teeth missing but, rather than the results seeming shoddy, the grit of that vocal makes the song immediately interesting and accessible.
In print, ir might not seem like such a simple and basic aural/oral flaw as having a toothless whistle should translate into such a vibrant and hypnotizing sound as it does in “I Gotta Get Shorty Out Of Jail,” but it does. Not only that but, coupled at it is with the sweet and lowdown black and blue-eyed soul sound injected by The Sadies (and featuring added contributions from Jon Spencer, Kelly Hogan and Matt Verta-Ray), that is the sure sound of a career defining record; it's an achievement.
After “I Gotta Get Shorty Out Of Jail” sets the tone for the record and casts the spell over listeners, they won't even dream of trying to get away as Williams gets down deeper into the pocket to show them how dark the sweet and lowdown can get. Songs including “The Seventy Year Old,” “Your Old Lady,” “Bored” and “Mississippi & Joliet” are (without question) the best blues songs recorded in this century and illustrate just how alive and well the idiom is. To put none too fine a point on it, when Williams growls and shakes that gravel in his throat into a microphone, the sound threatens to shake listeners to their core and disarm them with a commanding presence not felt since the passing of Junior Kimbrough; it's captivating.
What Williams shows listeners on the first half of Night & Day is some dark, dark shit but then, at right around the same moment “I Thank God” lets the first rays of warm sunshine into this album's run-time, the singer lightens up with it to show some contrast for the first side of the record. In retrospect, it's possible that the change in demeanor between the first and second halves of Night & Day has to do with the new sobriety that Williams found during the sessions (the recording of Night & Day was split between the period Andre Williams spent drying out) but, regardless of the stimuli, there's no arguing that the difference between everything before “I Thank God” and everything after it in this run-time isn't (as the album's title implies) night and day. On the second half of this album, Williams suddenly appears spontaneously renewed, refreshed and vocally brighter than he did anywhere on the first half; in songs like “Hey Baby,” “I'll Do Anything For Your Love” and “That's My Desire,” Williams seems to almost bounce along jovially, leaving his band to rush in order to keep up with him. That sudden spry turn proves to be infectious too; listeners will undoubtedly be able to feel their moods brighten with the music.
Hearing that the results of the work put into this album are as good as they are will leave listeners excited and thirsty for a follow-up release – so here's hoping the new fans that Night & Day has won and the longer-time fans that the album has titillated won't have to wait as long as it took for this record to see completion for another helping. Even if they do have to wait a while for more though, those who hear Night & Day will do just that and do it dutifully. After hearing Night & Day, fans will know and understand that quality can't be rushed.
Artist:
www.bloodshotrecords.com/artist/andre-williams
www.myspace.com/68691228
www.facebook.com/pages/Andre-Williams/
www.twitter.com/#!/MrRhythmAndreW
www.thesadies.net/
www.myspace.com/thesadies
www.facebook.com/TheSadies
www.twitter.com/#!/thesadies
Download:
Andre Williams & The Sadies – “One-Eyed Jack” – Night & Day
Album:
Night & Day will be released by Outside/Yep Roc on May 15, 2012. Pre-order it here on Amazon .
