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WORD TO THE WISE
You wouldn’t be wrong to refer to Word to the Wise, the latest outing from songwriter, singer and Titan of the Telecaster Bill Kirchen, as a “duets” album. The record—Kirchen’s second for Proper American, hitting May 25—is crammed to the brim with memorable appearances from a cast of characters including Norton Buffalo, Paul Carrack, Commander Cody, Elvis Costello, Blackie Farrell, Dan Hicks, Nick Lowe, Maria Muldaur and Asleep at the Wheel alumna Chris O’Connell.
But there’s a lot more going on here than the standard blending of two voices. Each of these all-star pals of the veteran artist puts his or her own distinctive stamp on the proceedings, from Hicks’ sublime scat singing with himself on the title tune to Costello’s “bulging-veined” (as Kirchen puts it) assault on “Man in the Bottom of the Well,” an original the gracious host pulled out of his thick songbook guessing it would be a good fit—and it’s viscerally apparent that Bill was on the money with his selection. “Elvis is not just messing around, as we all know,” Kirchen points out. “He’s a soulful man.” - continued
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