aaamusic | On 17, Jun 2010

Bill Kirchen has been hailed as the original “Dieselbilly” guitarist, as a standout singer and songwriter, and as a pioneer of rock and roll honky-tonk with the band Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. Now Kirchen is headed for a breakout with his new album of all-star duets, ‘Word to the Wise’ (Proper).
Full of humour, Telecaster twang, and serving up heaping portions of rock and roll, country, boogie-woogie and Western swing, ‘Word to the Wise’ features duets with nearly a dozen guest artists he’s met along the way (see track list below). It includes masterpieces old and new, such as Roger Miller’s classic “Husbands and Wives,” a new Dan Hicks/Bill Kirchen co-write (the title track, “Word to the Wise,”) and Kirchen’s powerful rocker, “Man in the Bottom of the Well,” sung unforgettably by Elvis Costello.
“I wanted to do an album with people I share a musical connection with,” Bill says. “I’ve worked with all of these people: I recorded with Nick Lowe, I’ve gigged with Elvis Costello, and with Maria Muldaur and Dan Hicks back in the day.”
The album, produced and recorded by Proper’s Paul Riley, was tracked at London’s Specific Sound, with additional recording done all over the map, from Austin to Vancouver to Bill’s home setup in Maryland. “We sent the tapes of ‘Man in the Bottom of the Well’ to Vancouver for Elvis to put his vocals on, but the rest of the time, we travelled around the country and collected those people,” Kirchen explains. In each case, the guests recorded their parts on top of basic tracks laid out by the core band of Bill, drummer/singer Jack O’Dell, bass player Johnny Castle and keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Austin de Lone, the former leader of seminal pub-rock band Eggs Over Easy.

Word To The Wise Tracklisting

1. Bump Wood
2. Shelly’s Winter Love (with Nick Lowe and Paul Carrack)
3. Man in the Bottom of the Well (with Elvis Costello)
4. I Don’t Work That Cheap (with Commander Cody on piano)
5. Time Will Tell The Story
6. Husbands And Wives (with Chris O’Connell)
7. Open Range (with Kevin “Blackie” Farrell)
8. Arkansas Diamond
9. Word To The Wise (with Dan Hicks)
10. Ain’t Got Time For The Blues (with Maria Muldaur)
11. Valley Of The Moon (with Norton Buffalo on harmonica