Far As The Wind Blows
by GatewayRobbery
Perhaps St. Louis is uniquely positioned as the nexus of musical influences (country, rock, blues, boogie, pop, punk) that created bands such as Uncle Tupelo and the Bottle Rockets. If so, then Belle Starr leader and songwriter Kip Loui has extracted a different blend on this impressive debut from a band that really doesn't sound a thing like its more famous predecessors. Full of country music, pop hooks, girl vocalists, fun rave-ups, harmonies, pretty ballads, steel guitar and unassuming attitude, Far as the Wind Blows features lead vocal and harmony tradeoffs between Loui and Lynne Reif, John Horton on lead guitars and steel, and the rhythm section of Spencer Marquart and Fred Teutenberg. The highlight is the title track, a sweet ballad that showcases Reif's voice, the band's easy tightness (dig that steel!) and Loui's song writing, but it's far from the only high moment on the record. For catchy pop, check out "Stolen Glances", "Magnets" and "Cry, Cry Again". For a feel-good romp, there's "The Gang's All Here", with its references to Ike Turner, George Jones and the Bosstones, and it's lyric: "Drink up but don't get near/The Kool-Aid and the Everclear/Most leave and then reappear/Hey, hey, the gang's all here." There's also "Sante Fe", an epic country story song over a bounding rhythm; the rockabilly pace of "Hook, Line, and Sinker"; and the motor city drive of "Too Bad." The quieter moments hold the record together: On "Slowing to a Stop", Reif sings, "But now I'm living elsewhere/Nowhere near where I began/And I reached a peak that I never did top/Like a tired old train I'm slowing to a stop." JIM COX
