HACIENDA BROTHERS
''ARIZONA MOTEL''
JUN 24 2008
PROPER RECORDS
51:30
1. A Lot of Days Are Gone/3:08
2. I'll Come Running/2:34
3. Uncle Sam's Jail/4:26
4. Big Town City/2:54
5. Use To The Pain/3:45
6. Ordinary Fool/4:35
7. Light It Again Charlie/2:59
8. Soul Mountain/5:04
9. When You're Tired Of Breaking Other Hearts/2:47
10. Look Into The Future/3:15
11. I Still Believe/4:32
12. Long Way To Town/3:41
13. Divorce Or Destroy/3:32
14. Break Free/4:18
David "DB" Berzansky /Guitar (Steel)
Dale Daniel /Drums, Percussion
Chris Gaffney /Accordion, Guitar (Acoustic), Organ, Piano, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Dave Gonzalez /Guitars, Vocals
Hank Maninger /Bass, Vocal Harmony, Vocals (Background)
Dan Penn /Producer, Vocals (Background)
Joe Terry /Organ, Piano, Vocal Harmony
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Frontman and co-founder Chris Gaffney's untimely death in April 2008 ensures that Arizona Motel is the final release from this rootsy country-soul quintet. Unfortunately, the band was just starting to receive national recognition due to constant touring when Gaffney was diagnosed with liver cancer. At least they had time to record a final set and leave on a high note, as this album is a logical continuation of the two previous studio projects and one live disc. Gaffney is in fine form, singing the majority of the songs and infusing them with his heartfelt honesty. Opener "A Lot of Days Are Gone" is particularly affecting, especially in retrospect. On it, guitar-slinging shotgun rider Dave Gonzalez trades lead vocals as Gaff sings "There was always time, but now it's slipped away" for a honky tonk ballad that can also be seen as a moving summary of Gaffney's life. The legendary Dan Penn, who produced both previous studio sets, returns for five (of the 14) tracks, and he wrote two of those, including the closing "Break Free," which features one of Gaffney's most emotional vocals. The rest are credited to the band, which keeps the sound appropriately stripped down yet not raw. The twangy R&B approach is best captured on the ballad "Ordinary Soul," a weeper that hits the sweet spot between genres as effectively as any in the group's catalog. It's highlighted by guest Joe Terry's (Dave Alvin, the Skeletons) piano, a subtle yet essential addition to the majority of these songs. The members get a rare chance to solo on "Light It Again Charlie," the only instrumental and one of the few instances where Gonzalez opens up on guitar. "Soul Mountain" balances between country, blues, and gospel on an upbeat shuffle offset by the rest of the typically slower tunes. A few covers highlighted by Connie Smith's "I'll Come Running" and Hank Williams' "When You're Tired of Breaking Other Hearts" pepper the disc, and Gaffney dips into George Jones' expressive territory on the tearful "Divorce or Destroy," but it's the originals that are most impressive. These songs, most co-written by Gaffney, Gonzalez, and manager/friend Jeb Schoonover, capture the proud yet sad tales of protagonists who are brokenhearted but not broken, down but seldom out. With Gaffney's world-weary voice and a great band behind him, Arizona Motel is a poignant yet proud conclusion to the singer's musical legacy and a stirring way to close the book on this classy Americana artist.
BIOGRAPHY
By Mark Deming
Playing classic-style country music with a strong undertow of vintage soul, the Hacienda Brothers are a collaboration between two gifted roots music artists. Vocalist Chris Gaffney is a singer and songwriter who has released several albums with his band, the Cold Hard Facts, and recorded and toured as a member of Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men, while Dave Gonzalez is best known as the guitarist, singer, and songwriter with the veteran blues-rockabilly combo the Paladins. Longtime friends Gaffney and Gonzalez first performed together when they played an informal set for a mutual friend's birthday party in 2002; Gonzalez was impressed with the results, and as he was looking for an outlet for the country-style songs he was unable to perform with the Paladins, he proposed a more formal collaboration.
Teaming up with David Berzansky on pedal steel, Hank Maninger on bass, and Dale Daniel on drums, the duo adopted the name the Hacienda Brothers, and set up a base of operations in Tucson, AZ. Gonzalez, who has a passionate interest in vintage cars, struck up a friendship with fellow gearhead Dan Penn, the legendary producer and songwriter who was a key figure in the Muscle Shoals sound crew, and he persuaded Penn to produce the debut Hacienda Brothers album. Penn also contributed two songs to the sessions, which appeared on the group's self-titled 2005 release. What's Wrong with Right was released the following year.
''ARIZONA MOTEL''
JUN 24 2008
PROPER RECORDS
51:30
1. A Lot of Days Are Gone/3:08
2. I'll Come Running/2:34
3. Uncle Sam's Jail/4:26
4. Big Town City/2:54
5. Use To The Pain/3:45
6. Ordinary Fool/4:35
7. Light It Again Charlie/2:59
8. Soul Mountain/5:04
9. When You're Tired Of Breaking Other Hearts/2:47
10. Look Into The Future/3:15
11. I Still Believe/4:32
12. Long Way To Town/3:41
13. Divorce Or Destroy/3:32
14. Break Free/4:18
David "DB" Berzansky /Guitar (Steel)
Dale Daniel /Drums, Percussion
Chris Gaffney /Accordion, Guitar (Acoustic), Organ, Piano, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Dave Gonzalez /Guitars, Vocals
Hank Maninger /Bass, Vocal Harmony, Vocals (Background)
Dan Penn /Producer, Vocals (Background)
Joe Terry /Organ, Piano, Vocal Harmony
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Frontman and co-founder Chris Gaffney's untimely death in April 2008 ensures that Arizona Motel is the final release from this rootsy country-soul quintet. Unfortunately, the band was just starting to receive national recognition due to constant touring when Gaffney was diagnosed with liver cancer. At least they had time to record a final set and leave on a high note, as this album is a logical continuation of the two previous studio projects and one live disc. Gaffney is in fine form, singing the majority of the songs and infusing them with his heartfelt honesty. Opener "A Lot of Days Are Gone" is particularly affecting, especially in retrospect. On it, guitar-slinging shotgun rider Dave Gonzalez trades lead vocals as Gaff sings "There was always time, but now it's slipped away" for a honky tonk ballad that can also be seen as a moving summary of Gaffney's life. The legendary Dan Penn, who produced both previous studio sets, returns for five (of the 14) tracks, and he wrote two of those, including the closing "Break Free," which features one of Gaffney's most emotional vocals. The rest are credited to the band, which keeps the sound appropriately stripped down yet not raw. The twangy R&B approach is best captured on the ballad "Ordinary Soul," a weeper that hits the sweet spot between genres as effectively as any in the group's catalog. It's highlighted by guest Joe Terry's (Dave Alvin, the Skeletons) piano, a subtle yet essential addition to the majority of these songs. The members get a rare chance to solo on "Light It Again Charlie," the only instrumental and one of the few instances where Gonzalez opens up on guitar. "Soul Mountain" balances between country, blues, and gospel on an upbeat shuffle offset by the rest of the typically slower tunes. A few covers highlighted by Connie Smith's "I'll Come Running" and Hank Williams' "When You're Tired of Breaking Other Hearts" pepper the disc, and Gaffney dips into George Jones' expressive territory on the tearful "Divorce or Destroy," but it's the originals that are most impressive. These songs, most co-written by Gaffney, Gonzalez, and manager/friend Jeb Schoonover, capture the proud yet sad tales of protagonists who are brokenhearted but not broken, down but seldom out. With Gaffney's world-weary voice and a great band behind him, Arizona Motel is a poignant yet proud conclusion to the singer's musical legacy and a stirring way to close the book on this classy Americana artist.
BIOGRAPHY
By Mark Deming
Playing classic-style country music with a strong undertow of vintage soul, the Hacienda Brothers are a collaboration between two gifted roots music artists. Vocalist Chris Gaffney is a singer and songwriter who has released several albums with his band, the Cold Hard Facts, and recorded and toured as a member of Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men, while Dave Gonzalez is best known as the guitarist, singer, and songwriter with the veteran blues-rockabilly combo the Paladins. Longtime friends Gaffney and Gonzalez first performed together when they played an informal set for a mutual friend's birthday party in 2002; Gonzalez was impressed with the results, and as he was looking for an outlet for the country-style songs he was unable to perform with the Paladins, he proposed a more formal collaboration.
Teaming up with David Berzansky on pedal steel, Hank Maninger on bass, and Dale Daniel on drums, the duo adopted the name the Hacienda Brothers, and set up a base of operations in Tucson, AZ. Gonzalez, who has a passionate interest in vintage cars, struck up a friendship with fellow gearhead Dan Penn, the legendary producer and songwriter who was a key figure in the Muscle Shoals sound crew, and he persuaded Penn to produce the debut Hacienda Brothers album. Penn also contributed two songs to the sessions, which appeared on the group's self-titled 2005 release. What's Wrong with Right was released the following year.