Billboard
Review
*The Tractors
Fast Girl
Producer: Steve Ripley
Audium 81182
The
release schedule of albums by the Tractors seems
to be measured in glacial terms, but the results
are rarely disappointing. Fast Girl finds the
Tulsa-based country boogiemeisters bouncing
to their own metronome, led by head Tractor
and chief songwriter Steve Ripley. The act¹s
debut on Nashville indie Audium is a sonic delight,
with expert musicianship from top to bottom
(including an "honorary Tractor" stint
by Leon Russell). "Babalou" thumps
with an Okie heartbeat, "Can¹t Get
Nowhere" swings mightily, and "Ready
to Cry" sways with dusty soul. Ripley pays
homage to his roots with the back-porch anthem
"Higher Ground" and a medley of "
A Little Place of Our Own" and Dylan¹s
"On the Road Again" that closes the
set. Ripley remains an adventurous, risk-taking
knob-twister in his own Church Studio, deftly
deploying horns, piano, guitars, and backup
vocals. Somehow, the Tractors manage to be loose
and tight at the same time, plowing along like
an old John Deere held together with spit and
bailing wire.‹RW
Tears
to toe-tappin': Country cranks up
Jim Abbott
SENTINEL POP MUSIC WRITER
Posted May 3, 2001, 2:00 PM EDT * * * * * The
Tractors, Fast Girl (Audium):
There's nothing too complex about this fourth
album from the loosely organized band of country
neo-traditionalists assembled occasionally --
though not often enough -- by Oklahoma native
Steve Ripley.
Yet
three chords still go a long way in the right
hands -- and there are lots of talented fingerprints
on these 10 rollicking saloon songs. Leon Russell
handles piano and Hammond B-3 organ in a band
that includes bluegrass ace Sam Bush on mandolin
and portions of Elvis Presley's well-regarded
rhythm section (guitarist James Burton and drummer
D.J. Fontana).
There are moments when Fast Girl makes you pine
for the days when Merle Haggard and Buck Owens
had a place on country radio. More often, though,
the album is a toe-tapping reminder of the natural
link between old-time country and the blues-based
boogie that Sam Phillips' Sun Records would
transform into rock 'n' roll in the late 1950s.
From
Ripley's initial "Heeyyy, Baaaybeeee!"
exclamation (a nod to the Big Bopper?), there's
an informal atmosphere that results in a one-take,
leave-the-tape-running feel.
The opening "Babalou" chugs along
behind a solid snare-drum backbeat, a punchy
horn section, Burton's dobro and well-placed
background voices.. The lyrics span world history
from Old Testament stories to Ricky Ricardo
and modern politics against a melody borrowed
from "The Midnight Special."
That's
not the only time that Ripley wears his influences
on his sleeve. "Nine Eleven" is a
credited sampling of the melody from Huey "Piano"
Smith's "Rockin' Pneumonia." The title
alludes to a love-related emergency call.
"Can't
Go Nowhere" dips into Texas swing with
an authenticity that rivals Asleep at the Wheel.
It's about a hard-luck guy who can't seem to
do what he once did: "You're a fast ball,
baby -- Inside curve/ I'd take a swing -- I
ain't got the nerve." The jaunty arrangement,
which adds a dose of saxophone to the requisite
pedal steel guitar, proves that Ripley and his
hired guns don't have that problem.
The
band slows the tempo for "Ready to Cry,"
a lean but gorgeously arranged ballad about
being on the edge of tears. It's a terrific
showcase for Ripley's deep baritone, which manages
to sound rugged and vulnerable at the same time
on a song that wouldn't sound out of place on
an Iguanas album.
Ripley
embraces his mission on "It's a Beautiful
Thing," which examines the enduring power
of Hank Williams and Chuck Berry against the
tide of lesser competition.
"There's a lot of new music," he sings.
"Stop and think and you'll find. Even Hank
was new music once, got to keep an open mind.
I set aside my Faron Young and bought myself
a Hootie. I rolled down the window of my pick-up
truck and it sailed like a Frisbee."
It's worth rolling down the window for Fast
Girl too -- so you can feel the wind in your
hair when you turn up the volume.
Copyright © 2001, Orlando Sentinel
