The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band

Album: ‘Poor Until Payday‘
Year: 2018

When the package with this album hit my mailbox a week ago, I thought I had made a mistake. I could have sworn the release date was in October. I looked it up and I was right–this album doesn’t drop until this coming Friday. I guess I’m such a big deal with this music blog that has a single-digit readership that they decided to give me an advanced copy for review. Or it was a shipping mistake. Either way.

I listened to the album in one sitting because that is the best way to take in one of the Reverend’s works. This album was much like the last one in that he does a good job treading the line between twangy, bluesy country and heartland rock that makes him so damn impressive. The big difference is he’s allowing his country side to come out more as it is the most consistent part. The gospel country parts in songs like “Get the Family Together” work in great juxtaposition with the more backwoods twang of “Dirty Swerve” and “I Suffer, I Get Tougher” while leaving enough rock in “Poor Until Payday” for folks like me who only like to dip their toes in the swamp every now and again. In all, this is a good album that doesn’t stray far from the band’s temperaments but that seems to work for them for now.

Track of Distinction: “You Can’t Steal My Shine” has a great gospel country feel that has the requisite positive message but is also rough around the edges to allow it some dimension.

The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band

Albums:
‘Big Damn Nation‘
‘The Gospel Album‘ (2007)
‘The Whole Fam Damnily‘ (2008)
‘The Wages‘ (2010)
‘Peyton on Patton‘ (2011)
‘Between the Ditches‘ (2012)
‘So Delicious!‘ (2015)

My first experience with The Reverend was at a New Year’s Eve show I saw in Denver headlined by Flogging Molly. Here was this band of hillbillies, one playing a cigar box guitar, another a washboard, and they absolutely rocked the venue with their energetic style of American country blues. The Reverend, a devout disciple of the Church of Charley Patton, uses his style to make good ol’ hootenanny music as well as some anthems for the mid-American working class. His voice is that of a field worker that sings his blues as he breaks his back bringing in the harvest. Listening to this music doesn’t make you a redneck, but you’ll be hooked on the old-timey country beats.

I have since seen The Reverend, washboard player Breezy, and their drummer “Bird Dog” two more times and they bring an outstanding amount of energy and power to their shows for being a three-piece band. Even tracks like “Dirt” and “Devils Look Like Angels“–tracks that feel more like prairie dirges–get a live treatment that is so visceral that it shakes you to your core. I guess my only complaint about their studio recordings is that they fail to bring that energy. Live staples like “Two Bottles of Wine” [live version] and “Mama’s Fried Potatoes” [live version] lose a bit in translation but that cannot detract from the amount of pure talent and genius goes into making such great sounds without much back-end mixing. Next time The Reverend comes to town, make a point to take in a service.

Track of Distinction: With so many great tracks from these albums, I come again to my dilemma of choosing just one track to highlight. While later albums show the maturity of the band, early releases show the pure energy and enthusiastic potential within. So, after eliminating tracks like “Scream at the Night,” “Sugar Creek,” and his cover of Charley Patton’s “Some of These Days I’ll Be Gone,” I settled on “Easy Come Easy Go,” a great track that hits on everything that band provides and what they do best.