It opens with a song titled “Bad
Winds,” and I’m on board immediately. The first part of this song is delivered
nearly a cappella, with just a bit of strumming on guitar to accompany his
voice. And what a voice. His is one of those voices with strength and
character, worn just enough that you believe his tales, emotional enough that
you want to hear them. And he starts by directly addressing alcohol: “Whiskey/You come wash over me/’Cause I’ve
been underneath/In the pastures of sin.” It’s more than a minute before it
kicks in, so that when it does, it comes as a wonderful surprise. And at that
moment, I’m hooked, but the song only gets better from there. “Sometimes I feel like only the lord and I
know/Where the bad winds blow.” Well, these days I think we all know where
the bad winds blow. That’s followed by “Come To Texas,” a delightful country
tune in which he tries to convince a girl to come to Texas. Chris Fullerton is
based in Austin, by the way. “The whole
town’s a can of beer/I’ve been thinking of some things that I could do to you,
my dear/And some of them things are just downright weird.” Amen! This track
features Ian Sutton on pedal steel. Then Luke Willis joins Chris Fullerton on
violin on “I Feel Nothing,” a pretty and mellow tune with some damn good lyrics.
Check out these lines, which open the song: “You should see the way the stars look/All shiny and bright/The city
lights can’t break them tonight/And my head feels no pain/With a mouthful of
medicine.” Luke Willis also plays on “Ma Cherie Amie,” a slow dance. “Is it too early to say I love you/Because I
do.”
Okay, the line “Well, I just can’t shake these epilepsy
blues” might seem an obvious joke, but it made me smile. That’s clearly from
the album’s title track, “Epilepsy Blues.” It begins with an old-time sound,
like it’s being played on an old record player, which then dies – perhaps the
power was cut, who knows. But then the song takes on a more immediate feel. “Well, if you’re smart you’ll see a
neurologist/And if you ain’t smart you’ll find you a girl that is/That’s what I
did, and that’s why I’m singing this.” And yes, Chris Fullerton has
epilepsy. “Epilepsy Blues” is followed by “Float On Up And See,” which might be
my favorite track. From the first lines, I love this song, and the “foaming at the mouth” line made me laugh
aloud the first time I listened to it. Yet, this is a sweet, gorgeous song. And
the violin adds a somber aspect to its beauty. By the way, these are the first
lines: “Well, she unstraps her halo/Lets
it fall to the floor/It doesn’t matter much anymore, man/’Cause she’s a goddamn
angel.”
“Motel Blues” has a more playful,
lighter vibe. Chris sings “And I complain,
but why listen,” then pauses before continuing, “To the words a drunkard cries/And who would buy flowers for the clown.”
In this song he also mentions the promise of having flying cars by now, asking,
“Where have all my boyhood dreams gone?”
And off into space we go at the end. Then, in the fun “El Paso Spacedance,” Chris
wishes a happy birthday to Buzz Aldren. The album then concludes with an
intriguing tune titled “Seven Roman Candles,” which features Lindsay Preston
reciting an excerpt from the poem “Brooding Likeness,” written by Louise Gluck
(she first reads the last few lines, then at the end of the song reads basically the second half of the poem). And check out these lines: “I went out walking in the snow/And the
people just watched me stumble/Saying who’s that dead guy/While seven roman
candles lit the night sky.”
CD Track List
- Bad Winds
- Come To Texas
- I Feel Nothing
- Ma Chere Amie
- Epilepsy Blues
- Float On Up And See
- Motel Blues
- Come On In
- El Paso Spacedance
- Seven Roman Candles
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