Surely the most provocative artist name you will ever come across. Thoughts turned to a deed poll visit by a music nut or parents conceiving in a haze of country rock. Attention had been grabbed before you press play and a little more searching reveals it is a trio act from Southern California playing music just as it says on the tin - hugely retro, plenty of axe wielding riffs and a twangy soundtrack to keep you shuffling on a hardwood floor for at least the thirty-four minutes of its duration. TRASH TALKING GUITARS emerged out of left field and announced its intention to hang around with a sound heavily likened to Dwight Yoakam.
Merle Jagger is the brainchild of band leader Mark Christian who teams up with drummer Johnny Ray and bassist Gabe Davis to spin you ten tracks comprising eight original songs, an original instrumental and a cover you will all know. Think barroom blues meets honky tonk meets uncomplicated rock 'n' roll to place a sound in your head. It is certainly more Merle than Jagger, but even Mick can rough it with the best in his roots. A tilt towards country frames the album and songs about drinkin', lovin', hurtin' and workin' fall in line as well.
With the album racing to a climax after eight stonkin' original songs, Christian and the boys turn a hand to the Monroe standard 'Blue Moon of Kentucky' before deciding that a sizzling instrumental packed to the hilt with hot licks by the name of 'Ranch Rock Revivial' is the ideal way to sign off a record that is certainly talking guitars if not so much on the trashy side. From a July 15th release day you can sample for yourself on the streaming sites but alas a website, up-to-date Bandcamp page or You Tube sampler cannot be located. Maybe Merle Jagger is truly old school.
From the eight tracks that tell you most about Merle Jagger, 'Broken Home Yard Sale' is probably the one that advances most though only by a short neck. For your staple themes: 'Pour Me a Drink', 'Looking for Another Bar to Cry In' and 'Hurt By Love' match the ideals of any band with the name Merle in it. You won't be surprised to learn that 'Working for the Blues' is the song that leans the other way, and the riff that opens it is straight out of the blues playbook or closer to home one of the many pub rock blues bands that thrive around the land from the mid sixties to the present day. Stirling stuff anyhow.
Search Merle Jagger TRASH TALKING BLUES post-release date and find some music that is classic to the core yet fresh to the ears. They celebrate the iconic guitar and all its many heroes in full glory with a key ear to enamoured retro country rock. A record to smile to even if the acquaintance turns out to be brief.
