RYAN BINGHAM & THE DEAD HORSES — ROADHOUSE SUN (Humphead)

[Maurice Hope]

www.humpheadcountry.com
If the music of Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen are part of your diet then now you now have another flavour to spice up your life! Since, young aspiring Texas singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham is straight out of the same stable, honest and ragged, vocally he is capable of going the distance.
Following on from his debut album Mescalito, Bingham has come up with a strong collection of tunes, and he wrote them all. Yes, he does on occasions become a little too ragged as he cranks up the tempo and lets the adrenalin take over his music. Then again haven’t Springsteen and Dylan to whom, he has been likened fallen foul of cranking it up and loose focus at times on becoming hooked on power. But for all his indiscretions there is something special about Bingham’s music that suggests he is worth nurturing.
While ‘Dylan’s Hard Rain’ has its attraction with it’s clever hooks, the brusque and rambling free as a bird ‘Tell My Mother I Miss Her So’ possessing an edge and drive Woody would have been proud of coupled with such equally impressive tracks as ‘County Road’ with its harp and jangling rhythm and with his whiskey torn raspy and heartfelt vocals wrapping itself ‘round the meaningful lyrics ‘Snake Eyes’ acutely soak into one’s inner soul.
After a succession of tracks short of the mark, ‘Roadhouse Blues’ with Elijah Ford excelling on piano followed by the measured and slowly festering ‘Rollin Highway Blues’ and an acceptable, yet far from earth moving ‘Wishing Well’ help to regain ground lost by the mid-album efforts. Give Bingham a producer like Gurf Morlix and he may well fulfil his promise.
Maurice Hope