Over the last few months George McConnell has been going back to the glory days of rock and roll releasing “Virtual 45’s” complete with B-Side’s. Come to think of it, that is pretty close to the glory days of today an I-tunes, but either which way McConnell decided to combine all his individual tunes into this full length titled, appropriately enough, Singles Only. There is a juke-joint, honky-tonk, pool-hall, vibe coursing through these songs. McConnell’s guitar playing is Memphis southern fried soul, slithering and sliding around, puncturing when need be or boogie-woogie’in’ in the background. A staple of the Southern jam scene McConnell also doesn’t shy away from blending genres, straight up rock is everywhere, but note the reggae flashes on “Hey Man”, the country twanged “Veronica Blue” and a dash of funk on the instrumental “Mr. Cropper”.
McConnell’s guitar playing has earned him the lion share of his respect in the past, but his voice here is utterly engaging and should be praised as well. A more “every man” vocal mix of Chris Robinson and Tom Petty, McConnell can convey the blues with a slight rasp or joy with a vocal smirk. An interesting release to listen to as a full length because it was specifically not recorded in this manner, but the songs smoke and it is hard to pick out the “B-side’s” if you’re not familiar with the project. In the end the bluesy numbers like “Goodbye, So Long” and “Feel No Pain” may work a bit better then the out and out rockers like “Compass Lost” and “Here We Come Now”, but whatever the format all are worth a listen.
Singles Only – George McConnell
Brian Robbins
2009-05-05
self-released
Okay, let’s get this little phrase out of the way first: “former Widespread Panic guitarist George McConnell.” You done with that? Good – let’s move on.
George McConnell’s Singles Only is just what it says: a collection of the singles the veteran guitarist has made available on his website as A- and B-sided “virtual 45s.” Of course, we dinosaurs who actually lived the days of the little black records with the big ol’ holes in the middle of them will remember that the b-sides were usually thought of as the weaker tracks that sometimes didn’t ever see the light of day on an album … but often turned out to be hidden treasures. As far as Singles Only goes, forget about the As and Bs – the good ones are good and that’s it.
McConnell proves himself to be a songwriter with a sense of humor and an ear for a hook – and a vocalist who can pull off both a love song and a kiss-off tune with equal credibility. But the foundation of Singles Only is the guitar work of McConnell and co-slinger Daniel Karlish. The pair give you a face full right off the bat: the album-opening “Goodbye So Long” sounds like Some Girls-era Stones right up until McConnell and Karlish start laying down wild harmony leads that ol’ Keith and Ronnie would never have attempted back then. (And probably not now, either, God bless ‘em.) The instrumental “Mr. Cropper” is an obvious nod to one of George’s guitar heroes, but so is "In Walked You," all silky blue-eyed soul and riffs that sound like classic Stax. And speaking of the afore-mentioned Keith Richards, “Feel No Pain” is a stripped-down tale of the elegantly wasted with a beautiful guitar solo at its heart. The totally radio-ready “Must Not Mind” provides an idea of what Supertramp might have sounded like roughed-up.
The punkish screams of “Here We Come Now” and snarls of “Hollywood Babylon” seem almost out of character on the album – although it is a collection of “singles” rather than the result of a beginning-to-end session. (But wait – these were “A” sides? Oh … never mind.) McConnell’s at his best when his Mississippi rock roots are showing, and, for the most part, that’s what Singles Only is all about.
Okay, okay: quiet down, all of you dirt seekers who can’t pass a car accident on the highway without rubbernecking in hopes of spying some gore. I hear you out there, hungry for some reference to George’s Panic experience. Well, eff you – shut up. There really isn’t any. This is an album of George McConnell tunes written and performed by a guy who’s looking ahead, rather than over his shoulder. The closest thing to acknowledging how hard the world can sting is “Hey Man”, a collection of classic drunken a-hole hanging ‘round the stage lines:
Hey man, don’t I know you from somewhere?
Yeah, brother – didn’t you used to be somebody famous?
Oh, yeah, well I remember you playin’ guitar in some rock ‘n’ roll band
Lookyhere, man, if you did get the chance, do you think you could
Introduce me to the drummer? He’s standin’ right there …
But even then, “Hey Man”’s Thin Lizzy-like hook and quasi-reggae-beat verses are just too damn fun to be bitter.
And that’s the deal with Singles Only: it sounds like George McConnell is having fun being … George McConnell.
Written by Tom Speed
07/03/2009
Though he’s been making music for the better part of 25 years, George McConnell has just now released his very first solo album, titled Singles Only. Through a series of records and years of touring with Beanland, Kudzu Kings and Widespread Panic, the Mississippi-bred guitarist has been showing glimpses of his songwriting skills all these years, with influences ranging from R&B to country. We hear that here as well. “In Walked You” is a delicious mid-tempo R&B groove, while “Mr. Cropper” is an unapologetic tribute to Memphis soul.
However, we also see a much broader palette of sonic hues. “Hey Man” marries Allmans-esque twin lead guitar with a reggae bounce, while the sweeping pedal steel of “Veronica Blue” conjures a Deep South brand of cosmic Americana. Throughout, McConnell’s previously obscure penchant for punk rock rears its head, notably on the ferocious “Here We Come Now” and the full-throttle “Compass Lost.”
In those previous outings, McConnell has often been linked to the genre spawned by the Grateful Dead. Indeed, Beanland cut their teeth on Dead covers and Widespread Panic has rightly or wrongly always been considered one of the original jam bands. But on Singles Only we find a more comfortable McConnell basking in a glow more reminiscent of Mick and Keith than Jerry and Bobby. “Goodbye So Long” and “Hollywood Babylon” are both balls-to-the-wall rockers that show less interest in noodling and more insistence on swaggering purpose. One gets the feeling that after all these years, McConnell has finally found real footing in his own element.
The album was conceived as a collection of “singles,” (hence the title) hearkening back to the age of 45 rpm records with an A-side and a B-side. McConnell even went so far as to originally release them in pairs as “virtual 45s” on his website before releasing them all together in CD format, a methodology that has its feet firmly entrenched in both the past and the future, much like the contents found within Singles Only.
If there’s any justice in the world, the phrase “former Widespread Panic guitarist George McConnell” will be replaced by “Mississippi roots-rocker George McConnell” with the release of Singles Only. This 11-song collection finds George the Songwriter standing toe-to-toe with George the Guitarist on cuts like the Some Girls-Stonesy “Goodbye So Long” and the Stax-slathered “Mr. Cropper” and “In Walked You.” While the primal scream therapy of “Here We Come Now!” may seem a bit in your face, it’s totally overshadowed by the sheer fun of “Hey Man” (a Thin Lizzy hook spliced with Clash-like white-boy-reggae on the verses, featuring classic stage leech icebreakers: “Didn’t you usta be somebody famous?”).
Good one, George – more power to ya.
George McConnell picked up his first guitar at age 15, and he’s been picking them up ever since. As both a player and purveyor of guitars, he has amassed quite a collection of sounds, songs and stringed instruments. He’s served as lead guitarist in the bands Beanland, Kudzu Kings and Widespread Panic. In his spare time, he helmed a vintage guitar store on the historic Oxford Square.
McConnell first learned the ways of the world under the careful teaching of a truck driver named Lulu. When he was just ten years old, McConnell worked on the back of a beer truck with Lulu, traveling to juke joints and pool halls delivering delicious Falstaff in the Mississippi Delta.
McConnell grew up in the river town of Vicksburg, Mississippi. halfway between New Orleans and Memphis. Thus began exposure to the wide swath of music that inhabits the Mississippi soul. Over the years he crossed paths with musicians from the worlds of jazz, soul, blues, country and rock ‘n roll; in effect, McConnell couldn’t help but become the player that he is blurring these styles of music together. These experiences led him to become a full time musician, worse than that - a singing, guitar player; despite his family and friends’, wishes for a better life. This is music that can only be called rock ‘n roll.
With nearly two decades of stage experience under his belt, McConnell unleashes these new songs to take out on a “singles” only date, and have your way with them. So cozy up to your internet and pretend you are buying a real vinyl 45. Punch the button to download the way it used to be.
Those songs have been percolating in McConnell’s Oxford studio, and will be released in the following months through a series of downloadable singles, packaged together in “Virutal 45” form as a two-track (A-side and B-side) package.
Hope our paths cross again someday.
..i love her.. happy 9-9-09 day.. go Beatles...
