Scott Miller & the Commonwealth
Citation
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Scott Miller
Citation
Sugar Hill Records, 2006
RiYL: Tom Petty, Josh Rouse, Caitlin Cary |
Well, perhaps I’m getting older, but I don’t have many of those moments anymore. I’ve seen Wilco enough times that I don’t rush out for their records anymore, and Joe Strummer, rest in peace, unfortunately has cut his final album.
There’s maybe a small handful of musicians out there that get me pumped. Josh Rouse, Robbie Fulks, Caitlin Cary, Allison Moorer, and Scott Miller -- that’s about it.
So it was with great anticipation that I put in Miller’s newest album Citation in the CD player not that long ago. After all, if the record was anything like his first two formal solo outings, 2003’s Upside/Downside and 2001’s Thus Always To Tyrants, I knew what I was in for -- solid, smokin’ rock and tuneful, honest country.
Miller has never done anything revolutionary, and I think that’s what I like most about him. He stays true to his roots and knows, with a casual confidence and cool swagger, that he can tear up a stage with the best of ‘em.
And that’s my biggest problem with Citation -- while most of the album is on par with everything he’s done in the past, a fair number of tunes sound like he’s trying to cash out while on a few others he’s repeating ideas and themes he’s covered in the past.
No don’t get me wrong, I like the album. I like that it’s still a Scott Miller record at its core, as songs like “Wild Things,” “Say Ho,” and “Long Goodnight” show a bit of growth since Upside/Downside, yet would fit comfortably on any of his earlier records.
And he takes a few risks, like the scorching take of an obscure early ‘80s Neil Young tune “Hawks And Doves,” and the blistering and witty rock-and-stomp lampoon “8 Miles A Gallon,” one of Miller’s first real forays into political commentary.
“So your boys are deployed / If it’s me you’re fighting for / We need democracy and gasoline / and a world of rock and roll / and I’m praying everyday / that if you make it through the battle / I won’t feel so guilty about 8 miles a gallon,” Miller wails in a George Thorogood arena-sized rocker.
But Citation also contains a few missteps, notably “The Only Road,” “Only Everything,” and “Jody.” While neither of the first two tunes, on their own, are bad per se, both feel like retreads of his earlier material. The latter, well, let’s just say it’s not a Scott Miller song.
“Jody” is fine lyrically, a clever look on a soldier who finds out his wife and best friend are having a bit of a fling while off to war: “Got out of school and I thought I’d join / there wasn’t really nothing going on / then trouble started and we came under attack / she said she’d wait for me when I got back / Now I just shipped out and lickety split / Jody’s watching TV on my TV set / He’s playing my guitar and drinkin’ my beer / He’s over there while I’m over here.”
Musically, though, “Jody” just isn’t right. The tune is far too light and, for lack of a better word, congenial for the lyrics, making it tough to take the song seriously.
And “The Only Road” is simply flat and repetitive, not only in music but in theme, as Miller has taken on the subject of World War II with much more vigor and clarity in “Red Ball Express” from Upside/Downside.
That said, faithful readers of this site know of my affinity for Miller and know I can’t let this review end on a negative. Citation isn’t perfect and has its warts, but it ends spectacularly.
“Say Ho” is Miller at his best -- a storyteller, historian and damn fine musician. The quickly fluttering acoustic tune traces the story of Texas hero Sam Houston, a Virginia native who played as big a role in early American history as anyone not named Washington.
Citation keeps moving with the Tom Petty-circa-Wildflowers-esque “On A Roll” and the lamentful “Long Goodnight,” the dark-yet soothing closer that brings everything to a neat and tidy conclusion.
“Long Goodnight” does what every good album-ender should -- leave you wanting more. And while Citation has its flaws, you’re gonna want more.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.