Published on Feb 14, 2000
The spirit of country-rockers like The Eagles isn’t dead. If
groups like The Bottle Rockets haven’t given your memory a kick,
groups like Big In Iowa should pick you up and give you a good
shake. Their second disc,
Twisted, shows that Bob Burns and crew have learned their
lessons well – even though the formula gets a little thin by the
end of the disc.
Don’t think for a second that Big In Iowa has lifted the
tablature from the early Eagles albums and copied them
note-for-note; if anything, the group – lead vocalist/rhythm
guitarist Burns, lead guitarist/vocalist Rick House, bassist Ken
Glidewell, organist/vocalist Mike McGuire and drummer/vocalist Jeff
Wilson – inject enough of their own style into the mix that you’ll
know you’re listening to something unique yet familiar. It’s a fine
balance, but one the band pulls off for the most part.
Twisted warmly embraces its rock roots as well. Tracks like
“Is This Love?” and “Southbound Train” hit the gas full throttle
and refuse to let the listener come up for air. “Is This Love?” is
especially impressive, and is a definite highlight of this
album.
The band’s Midwest roots shine through on tracks like “Rae Jean”
and “Justine (The Acid Queen)”, the latter track daring to throw a
little humor into the mix as well. It’s hard to listen to tracks
like these and not think of Little Feat, especially with Burns’s
vocal delivery sounding not unlike the late Lowell George. But
Burns and the band make sure to put their own stamp on the
material, which makes these tracks all the more special.
Unfortunately, the songwriting doesn’t seem to be able to hold
out the promise for the bulk of
Twisted. Cuts like “I Know It’s Wrong,” “My Pillow” and
“Nobody’s Fool” just aren’t of the same ilk as the first half of
the disc, and what should have been a blazing finish for
Twisted instead kind of meanders to a crawl. That’s a shame,
because Big In Iowa proved early and often on this disc that they
had the power to write good songs and the musical chops to back
them up. But if the song isn’t strong, solid performances don’t
even come into the picture.
Big In Iowa recently released their latest disc
Bangin’ ‘n’ Knockin’; we’ll eventually get to that disc here
as well. Until then,
Twisted is a nice introduction to this band as well as a
reminder of the forefathers of this generation – but it’s more of a
disc that promises greater things to come.