The Shape of
Things to Come
By Michael McDowell – http://blitzmag.blogspot.com
He found out the hard way that Nashville is a place where you come to die and die big time.”
That observation was made some years ago by a Nashville, Tennessee-based pastor in reference to a member of his congregation who gave up a lucrative career in the broadcast industry in Los Angeles to relocate to Music City , but with no clear cut mission statement in mind. A year after relocating, the former broadcaster found himself cleaning the house of a prominent songwriter on a part time basis and living in the one-room guest house on that songwriter’s estate.
To be certain, despite its many accomplishments and attributes, Nashville , Tennessee has for a number of years borne the dubious distinction as the city of choice for the “mean streets” designation. Such recognition was bestowed upon it by (amongst others) those whose endeavors earned them little more than the “stars who never were” observation made by Dionne Warwick in her somewhat prophetic 1968 single, Do You Know The Way To San Jose (Scepter 12216).
Ironically, San Jose , California is also the hometown of guitarist and songwriter Shane Dwight, who in 2008 followed the lead of that pastor’s hapless congregant and relocated to the Nashville suburb of Franklin . But unlike that ex-broadcaster, Dwight is a man with a musical mission and the capability of executing it commandingly in that most competitive of markets.
A Hundred White Lies is Dwight’s eighth release; his first since 2010’s acclaimed Live From The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. This most recent endeavor is his fourth in tandem with R-Tist Records and was produced Kevin McKendree at his Rock House Studio.
Not surprisingly, Dwight’s adventures in relocation were not without consequence. He referred to the move as a “double-edged sword”, with good reason. Despite remarkably favorable press almost from the onset, the ravages of competition in such an environment nonetheless took their toll.
However, from a musical standpoint, A Hundred White Lies reflects Dwight’s ordeals with remarkable candor, resolve and resilience. He has successfully sidestepped the propensity for lack of diversity common to many a post Climax Blues Band/Savoy Brown-era solo artist. Instead, Dwight invokes familiar templates from the Chess/Checker school of interim blues advancement and seals them with a lyrical stamp of originality that, while it may be a variation on a familiar theme, nonetheless continues to resonate with insiders and observers alike by virtue of its universal nature.
To wit, “Love’s Last Letter” invokes a familiar Southern rock theme (complete with trademark state of the urgent backing vocals) and revitalizes it with an often told tale that has nonetheless seen a marked increase in application in recent years. Likewise, “True Love’s Gone” opts for the second generation, “Exile On Main Street”-like slow walk and in the process strikes a chord that is certain to meet with approval from that most discerning of factions.
For variety’s sake, She “Struts 22” defaults to the Little Walter Jacobs 2/4 blueprint, while “I’m Talkin’ To You” is pure Jimmy Reed through the eyes of the aforementioned colleagues whose efforts for whatever reason fell short of those of Dwight’s. The title track brings it home with a subtle, minor key introduction that gradually crescendos into an instantly recognizable (and in Dwight’s case, autobiographical) saga.
Familiar territory, to be certain. But in Shane Dwight’s case, it is territory that carries an undercurrent of solidarity and as such is expressed with a conviction that is not always found in a format that by definition makes it mandatory. Indeed, A Hundred White Lies is, to invoke the album’s closer, a track that will cause the faithful to “Leave The Light On” in anticipation of further adventures.
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