Minglewood, MattMe and The Boys1986Norton RecordsNORT01-3

Minglewood, Matt - Me and The Boys - 1986 - Norton Records - NORT01-3

Written by John Taylor

Sigh. Poor ol' Matt Minglewood. He's been plugging away forever, it seems, yet he never gets the respect he very richly deserves. Sure, his music's not exactly on, shall we say, the cutting edge of fashion. But damn it, he's good!

Anyone who grew up in the '70s, and who remembers bands like Marshall Tucker and the countrified side of the Allmans, will recognize the roots of Minglewood's music. But he filters it all through a unique sensibility that's as Canadian as maple syrup and monster mosquitoes.

Take the opener, Livin' Outside Of The Law. True, the sentiment reflects a quasi-romantic sort of rebellious attitude most of us left behind with adolescence. (Sample lyric - "Livin' outside of the law/Ain't no fun at all"). But Minglewood has a way with both melody and a catchy hook, and manages to sing with utmost conviction. Next, it's Far Side Of Town, with the kind of chorus - a mix of immovable pride and tender vulnerability - Bob Seger used to toss off as a matter of course. Minglewood switches gears with a bouncy, country-swing number (Daughter Of The Night) and a rollicking I Don't Have The Blues, appropriately enough, more of a roadhouse rocker than a blues tune. The instrumental Cheri I Miss You may well be a masterpiece; a gorgeous piano intro from John Lee leads to stunningly melodic harp (Roly Platt) and guitar (Minglewood) solos, all driven along by an irresistibly fat bass line.

The anthemic title track approaches Springsteen territory, albeit on a budget; I'm not sure if it's entirely due to production or whether Minglewood is simply mellowing with age, but there's a little less fire and fury here than one remembers from his barn-burning days of old. Next we're out on the front porch a pickin' and a grinnin' our way through the utterly irresistible Georgia On A Fast Train, featuring a superb acoustic harp break from the tragically underrated Mr. Platt. Beg, Borrow And Steal starts with more than a little of the latter two from Sonny Boy Williamson, but the boys manage to rock it into altogether-new territory. Platt's work dazzles here as well.

Minglewood tackles a medley of Crossroads/Four o'Clock In The Morning - with snarling slide guitar courtesy of guest David Wilcox - throwing in his own semi-spoken break with the end result much closer to southern-fried boogie than anything resembling blues. It's fun, but goes on pretty long; I can't imagine playing it often. Things wrap up with a power ballad of sorts that sees Minglewood singing with an oddly affected accent that tries a little too hard and ends up… well, weird. It's an unfortunate conclusion to an otherwise fine outing.

Minglewood, by all accounts, is huge "down 'ome" (he's based in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia), and he's always a big draw when he makes an all-too-infrequent swing through these parts. Clearly there's an audience. My bet is that if so-called "classic-rock radio" were to end their incessant fixation on the past and take a chance on Minglewood's music, he'd be a major figure on the Canadian music scene.

Sigh. I suppose the demographic just isn't affluent enough to interest advertisers. Or maybe it's that quintessential Canadian thing, that we don't recognize our "homies" 'til they've made it big elsewhere.

Too bad. Minglewood's a treasure. Get yourself a copy of Me And The Boys and just see if you don't agree!

Copyright 2003. Review by John Taylor.

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