Cashman – Delta Sound
Pistol Blues Productions – 2023
12 tracks; 41 minutes
Texan Ray Cashman has released nine albums, toured across the states and Europe and lived in Austin and Nashville and now resides in the Sam Houston National Forest near Montgomery, Texas. This is stripped back electric blues and all original material, Cashman accompanying himself on guitar and foot stomp, with Gary Vincent’s steady bass throughout and Stan Street adding harmonica and occasional drums; guests include Austin Walkin’ Cane on dobro and Charlie Barath on harmonica, on a track each.
Cashman and Vincent set a strong pace on opener “Checking Out”, Cashman taking a cynical look at the way things are going in the world, offering the view that we will “nosedive straight to hell”. Cashman’s riff starts off before drums and harp join in on a tale of love gone stale, Cashman now being “Just Another Man”, rather than the burning love of the early days, before the pace drops on “Come On”, Cashman seeking the attention of a girl in the street. Cashman doubles up on guitar and dobro on “Flesh & Bones”, a tragic tale of a town destroyed by floods, an incident that, as he sings, “you never think about till it hits close to home, but we’re all really just the same, made of flesh and bones”. With a driving beat from the drums and Charlie Barath’s harp, “Roll Away” rocks along well before Stan Street plays harp on a slow blues in which Cashman grits his teeth against the rigors of life, thanking God that “I Have You”.
Cashman is “Feelin’ No Pain”, possibly because he has taken a “little yellow pill”, a jaunty country blues with slide to the fore. He is also fully aware of his own personality flaws on the driving “Narcissistic Blues”, the third and final track with drums: “Being with myself is my best company”! Austin Walkin’ Cane’s dobro adds an ominous feel to Cashman’s description of justice in a small town: “Around Here we don’t dial 911, we take care of it ourselves, me and my gun”. Cashman concludes that some people are simply “Too Young To Sing The Blues” as his guitar and the bass set a steady pace before they give us a classic country blues sound with loping rhythm and slide on a song that asks people what it must be like to be homeless and have to put on your “Walkin’ Shoes”. The album concludes with another piece of social commentary as Cashman decides that these days it is hard even to “Hustle & Flow”, Street adding some appropriately tough harp.
This is an album with interesting songs and, although it is mainly duo and trio performances, Cashman and his friends produce a full sound.
