Album Review: Full Tilt Boogie
The members of Full Tilt Boogie are veterans of the Southern Utah music scene, having played collectively for over 20 years. From the opening song of their debut album, it is easy to hear that they are in full command of their abilities and, like many good bands, know how to use their strengths to produce music that is witty, emotive, and memorable.
Although the group shares its name with Janis Joplin’s final band, this turns out not to be as blasphemous as it may initially seem. The band’s website claims that the inspiration for the name came from frontman Steven Swift’s grandmother. Full Tilt Boogie, like Joplin’s band, is a reliable foundation for Swift’s vocals — a skillful, solid, blues-based unit capable of a diverse range of playing styles.
A danger for many bands composed of experienced musicians recording their first album is to deluge the listener with multiple examples of the players’ virtuosity: lengthy guitar jams, showy drum solos, pointless noodling. Full Tilt Boogie never succumbs to this temptation, and this makes the album highly enjoyable. The songs are delivered straightforwardly, and the occasional flourishes serve to heighten the music rather than to stroke the egos of the players.
This is evident from the album’s first song, “Hold It,” a cheeky, provocative ode from “a big man full of love” urging his partner to “hold it all night long.” (The listener is left to imagine what “it” might be.) It’s a fun, driving blues number, and by the time Swift erupts into a delightful falsetto shriek at the, er, climax of the song, the listener has become intimately familiar with the band’s versatility.
Another of the album’s strengths are the clever, intelligent lyrics, another rarity for a genre that is not known for its creativity. Although the songs here include shout-outs to drinking, sexual prowess, complicated relationships, and trains, the group seldom resorts to tired blues clichés. “Big Town Suzy,” for example, delivers praise to “that kind of love that puts you on your ass” and will resonate well with anyone familiar with the somewhat limited dating options available in the smaller towns of Southern Utah. Elsewhere, the singer of “Eliza” declares his wish to “die with the Blues Brothers on.” The songwriting is not credited on the album, but it is very smart and often amusing: “I won’t be the only one to take you home,” he sings in “Sally.”
Of course, great lyrics are nothing without good music to back them up, and Full Tilt Boogie delivers brilliantly. The soaring guitar of “Feel Me,” the album’s best song, is a notable example, highly reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and contributing haunting accompaniment to the singer’s poignant query: “Do you feel me the way I feel you?” This band seems capable of turning on a dime, delivering an outlaw country vibe on songs like “Big Town Suzy” and breaking into sweet vocal harmonies on numbers like “Don’t You Dare Forget” and “Virginia.” The great variety of the music here makes the album worth repeated listening.
Swift’s vocals are similarly varied. Though he occasionally has trouble sustaining the upper reaches, he is able to punctuate nearly every song here with an emotive twist. At times he sounds much like Gregg Allman, and on songs like “Eliza” he comes close to the Stax-era style of William Bell, with all of that singer’s emotive power. Since his debut CD ten years ago, Swift has continued to develop as a singer and player, and Full Tilt Boogie is an ideal venue for his talents. Similarly, Charles Triplett’s supple bass, Rhett Boswell’s guitar, and Kyle Gower’s backing vocals are all incorporated productively on the album, and the production values of the recording nicely emphasize the rhythm section. It sounds good, in other words, and the album would make a fine traveling companion on a long desert drive or a rousing soundtrack to your next party.
This is a solid, highly enjoyable album performed by musicians who know how to play and how to engage an audience. One wonders how long Southern Utah will be able to contain them.
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This review captures my reaction to this CD so very well. I’ve always felt Triplett was a supple dude, too. This is my favorite band right now. Keep on rockin’ FTB!