Mean Old Fireman – Rescue 3
First Due Music Company
9 tracks/44 minutes
Ned Bollé is Mean Old Fireman; he’s a Massachusetts based singer/songwriter, slide guitar player who mixes up southern rock, NOLA styled music, and some blues into a production with mixed genres. This is his third release.
Ned handles vocals and guitar, plays some bass, and adds bass ukelele and banjo. Peter Chase adds his harp to a cut. Christina Lacoste is the backing vocalist and adds accordion to a track. Tom Martin plays bass on a couple of cuts. Shockwell Morency handles percussion and does vocals on “Lynn, Lynn.” Joey Pafumi and Rory Walsh share drum duties. Marty Phillips is on sax for three tracks. John Wadkins does all things keyboards throughout.
“I’m Not Crying” opens the album. It’s a rocking piece with a jumping sound. Lots of great sax, guitar, slide and a vibrant sound that grabs the listener. “12 Bars” follows, a blues cut with some funky keyboard, more good saxophone and nice done guitar. Bollé sings with a breathy pacing. The banjo and uke come out for an acoustic version of “Werewolves of London.” It’s different but it works. The percussion sets the groove and some keys and slide round out the sound.
“Highland Blues” follows where Bollé takes bagpipe music and turns it into slide guitar driven stuff. It also works in this short but interesting instrumental. “Lynn, Lynn” is a heavy Gaelic and country sounding rocker with banjo, slide and electric guitar. Chanted vocals abound. This is an old poem about the city of Lynn, Massachusetts. Lynn dates back to 1629 and was and is an industrial city and was known for violence and problems. Bollé and company give the poem an interesting musical cover. Next is “Dirty Water” which features some pretty harp, nice slide, and commentary on the waters and environs of the Charles River. Bollé howls out the vocals and the sax makes its’ final appearance.
“The Emptiest Drum” follows; this one is a dark tale with more slick guitar to savor. Things lighten up with “Romp,” a pleasant little instrumental piece with guitar, banjo and piano and it is a fun musical romp. The last track is labelled a bonus track and it reprises the Warren Zevon cut. This time it’s got slide acoustic and electric guitar and an island organ groove driving the tune. Another interesting take.
I must say this is not a traditional blues album and it was not intended as such. I don’t see the NOLA influences as much as claimed, but there is a variety of styles and influences here. Bollé delivers his vocals in a breathy and somewhat rough style. It’s not my cup of tea but it’s got charm. The songs are all quite novel and the approach is in your face and eclectic. The guitar, sax, keyboards and other instrumental work is really quite good. If you are looking for something a little off the beaten path, then perhaps this one is for you.
