Scotty Alan: Wreck And The Mess (2012)

Doug Collette

CD/DVD Reviewer since 2003

DC writes regularly about rock and roll, jazz and the blues, composing reviews of CD's, DVD's, live performances, books and films, as well as conducting interviews.

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Published: January 24, 2012

The antique sound quality of Scotty Alan's Wreck and the Mess suits the rootsy sound of this guitarist/vocalist's music, as the raggedy dynamic of the opening "Goodbye" suggests he and his accompanists are just barely keeping it together as they play. Still, their precarious interaction is one of the most joyous of musical sensations, the sound of a band discovering its bond with each other and its material.

As "Your Hero?" unfolds, a distinctly ironic air emanates from Alan as he sings of times gone by with a knowing tone and a weathered voice that belies his youthful optimism. Meanwhile, the drumbeat behind him resonates like an accusatory finger point and the guitar solo reeks of "I told you so." Bob Dylan Bob Dylan
b.1941
composer/conductor at his invective best would be proud—and not just of the attitude: the spontaneity of the arrangements and the playing catches the musicians, again, at the very point where they understand the material in both conception and execution. The tracks are as terse and to the point as songs such as "Was It Ever?"

Self-knowledge pervades songs such as "Long Way From Laughin.'" Alan's steady presence sets the tone for tracks as upbeat as "Ain't Much" as well as mid-tempo material like "Dam." Through both those cuts and elsewhere, his inclination to confront his circumstances is refreshing, instead turning potential self-pity like that within "Sinkin' In" and "Someone to Fight" into statements of resolute purpose.

The repetitive refrain of 'I feel alive!' on "Says Lately" begs to be taken at face value though; Alan is nothing if not to the point when he wants to be and his courage is as wry as it is good-natured when he sings on "Down Before I Fall." Such emotional resonance permeates the musicianship on Wreck and The Mess, the personage of which includes string-instrument wizard David Lindley as well as Fear of Faces Fear of Faces

sax, tenor keyboardist Ian McLagan.

Neil Young Neil Young
b.1945
composer/conductor 's regular collaborator, mix-master Niko Bolas, contributes to the recorded sound in no small measure, too. The deceptive clarity of the mix thus becomes a reflection of the artist's own personality. And, just as there's more to Alan than meets the eye, there's more to tracks like "Barn Dance" than meets the ear: Kristin Mooney's harmony vocals recall the best moments of Nicolette Larson accompanying the Canadian rock icon, or Emmylou Harris' stint with The Bard of Minnesota.

The alt-country movement spawned by Uncle Tupelo morphed into a much more polite (and self-consciously sensitive) genre termed "Americana," but Alan resides squarely in that earlier mindset. He's less inclined to wallow in his feelings than engage in healthy expression, and by the time it's over, Wreck and the Mess sounds like nothing so much as a complete and utter exorcism of demons.

Track Listing: Good-Bye; Your Hero?; Long Ways From Laughin'; Ain't Much; Dam; Says Lately; Barn Dance; Not Ready To Be; Down Before I Fall; Do It Alone; Was It Ever?; So Loud; Dusty Hollow; Sinkin' In; Someone to Fight.

Personnel: Scotty Alan: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals; Bernie Larsen: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lap slide, keyboards, percussion, backup vocals; David Lindley: fiddle, acoustic lap slide; Randy Mitchell: electric guitar; Ian McLagan: Hammond B3, piano; Phil Parlapiano: accordion, mandolin, organ; Butch Norton: drums; David Sutton: bass; Jorge Calderón: backing vocals; Kristin Mooney: backing vocals.

Record Label: Spinout Records