by Scott E. Williams
Managing Editor
The problem with being an "Americana" (a genre umbrella referring to those unfortunate, folksy souls lost in the limbo between country and rock) artist is that a lack of commercial success is almost guaranteed. Some decide to do their own thing, knowing their exposure will be limited. Some make attempts at commercial music in an often vain attempt at breaking through.
Texas genre-buster Robert Earl Keen has apparently decided there is no reason he can't have it both ways. His new record, Picnic, is an indication he may be right.
Keen's sound is more polished here than on earlier recordings, and if some of the rustic charm found on his previous releases gets rubbed out in the polishing process, that's a price he seems willing to pay. In the case of Picnic, it's a trade off that works.
The songs' protagonists are typical Keen creations. They're all losers, troublemakers, wanderers, or some combination thereof. However, where such Keen standards as "The Front Porch Song" (about Texas, as seen from Keen's College Station porch) or "Merry Christmas from the Family" (a white-trash classic that manages to be screamingly funny and terribly sad at once) rambled to a stop, the songs on Picnic race for their lives.
Even slower numbers like "I Wonder Where my Baby is Tonight" possess an urgency few of his songs have known. For a guy who is mainly known for fun, laid-back concerts, Keen sure can kick the intensity into high gear.
It's a strange mix, but one that makes for a powerful sound. Keen and Margo Timmons (who serves up backing vocals on four songs and duets with Keen on a fifth) provide vocal performances that perfectly capture the edgy desperation most of the songs' characters seem to be caught up in.
The players (including Keen tour band guitarist Rich Brotherton, drummer Mark Patterson and bassist Bill Whitbeck) drive the songs with an intensity that matches the songwriting and singing.
Although Keen writes most of his songs (a rarity in today's country scene), each Keen record features a few judiciously picked cover versions, and Picnic is no different. The covers here fit in with the electricity of the original songs, especially the rendition of Dave Alvin's "Fourth of July," which resonates with hurt and loneliness, the way a good country song should.
Picnic shows us a more accessible Robert Earl Keen, but one whose Texas country roots remain firmly in place.
Robert Earl Keen will be appearing at noon Thursday at Cactus Music and Video, 2930 S. Shepherd, for a solo acoustic performance and CD release party. Do yourself a favor and catch this musical poet in all his Texan earthiness.