self titled
Goofin Records GRCD6136
Rock Rock Jump And Jive - Settin' The Woods On Fire - Right Or Wrong - Crying The Blues Over You - Bayou Beauty - All The Time - Tummat Silmät (Dark Eyes) - Don't Big Shot Me - Hot Rod Man - Vamos A La Playa - Down The Line - Little Baby Doll - Honky Tonk Gal - Hit Git And Split
After two singles – one on Deke Dickerson’s Eccofonic and one on Goofin - issued something like ten years ago, it’s good to finally see a long player from High Noon’s ace guitar player : Sean Mencher. It’s a solid rockin’ album mainly made of classic covers which is a bit odd when you know Sean’s ability to write songs. This album sounds like Mencher wanted to play every genre he likes and sometimes mixing them together. You’ve got plenty of rockabilly of course (Rock’n’Roll Jump And Jive, Hot Rod Man, Go Cat Go’s Little Baby Doll) with Zach Ovingtons’ fiddle giving an original and nice country flavour. Some other songs are plain country like Hank Williams’ Settin The Wood On Fire or jazz / western swing Right Or Wrong, one of the highlight of this album, with a great swingin’ fiddle and as usual Sean guitar play is superb. You’ll also find a beautiful blues, Bill Neely’s “Crying The Blues Over You”, with just Sean’s fingerpicking and a harmonica. Mencher’s self penned “Bayou Beauty”, previously played by Ronnie Dawson and High Noon, is done this time with a full Cajun instrumentation with accordion, triangle and Matthew Doucet a native of South Louisiana on fiddle. A trumpet player is present on Link Davis’ Dong Big Shot Me, a not so different from the original version that suits Mencher’s vocal very well and also on the Mexican flavoured “Vamos A La Playa” provided by ex-Asylum Street Spankers Josh Arnson. The musicians show their skills on their interpretation of the classic instrumental Dark Eyes which sounds like a mix between jazz and rockabilly. This very good and versatile album shows all of Sean Mencher’s influences and is a pleasure from start to finish.
Fred "Virgil" Turgis