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TWO KINGS
CD REVIEW: ALL THE KING’S MEN
The King’s Men are drummer D.J. Fontana and guitarist Scotty Moore, ace session men at Sam Philips’ Sun studio from the very onset and members of Elvis Presley’s band - hence the royal reference. Both DJ and Scotty were instrumental (!) in shaping the sound of what was to become rock and roll and for the past four decades they have been admired by famous, more famous and even most famous rock and pop instrumentalists.
All the King’s Men is a tribute to the sound of Scotty and DJ, with both protagonists participating on each track. You may be interested in the tribute of two King’s Men, Keith Richards and Ron Wood.
KING 1: KEITH
Keith is backed by The Band (3/4 Band) on a country tune titled “Deuce and a Quarter”, sharing vocals with Levon Helm. Perfectly suited to Keith’s limited vocal range and ironic undertone, it immediately makes you think of the Rolling Stones’ C&W pastiches like Faraway Eyes, Sweet Virginia and Country Honk. Not that it impresses me much, though.
KING 2: RONNIE
Imagine a rhythm section consisting of Ron Wood (bass) and DJ Fontana (drums) and add the unique guitar sounds of Jeff Beck and Scotty Moore. Dream on now: imagine Jeff and Ron remembering they did All Shook Up and Jailhouse Rock for the second album of The Jeff Beck Group, “Beck Ola”. Well, wake up. There’s Scotty ànd Jeff ànd Ron on guitars, DJ on drums and one Ian Jennings handling the base. And they do a tribute number which was apparently written on the spot titled “Unsung Heroes”. A funky thing (Jeff can write one a day while sipping his Italian espresso in his favourite Soho cafetaria) with Ronnie doing the parlando. Well done everybody, but saved only by Jeff’s funky-jazzy patterns. That’s not the way to pay a tribute to senior citizens, kids!.
Don’t despair though. It’s a mighty fine album throughout, including some surprising performances by Cheap Trick (yes, those!), Ronnie McDowell & The Jordanaires, The Bill Black Combo, Joe Ely, The Mavericks and many more fans of Scotty & DJ. The fans are mainly guitarists though, as I can’t find the counterparts of Beck, Wood, Black, Helm etc. for the drums. Where were you, Charlie Watts, Ringo Starr, Kenny Jones…?
Eddy BONTE
back cover of cd
As published in “It’s Only rock and Roll”, issue 38. Check their site: www.iorr.org
NOTES
1 “Deuce and a Quarter” (Gwil Owen / Kevin Gordon) by Keith Richards and The Band: Guitars: Keith, Scotty, Jim Weider; Vocals: Keith and Levon Helm; Harmony and Bass: Rick Danko; Drums; DJ Fontana, Stan Lynch; Organ: Garth Hudson; Keyboards: Richard Bell.
2 ”Unsung Heroes” (Ron Wood, Jeff Beck, Ian Jennings) by Ron Wood & Jeff Beck:
Vocals: Ron Wood; Guitars: Ron Wood, Jeff Beck, Scotty; Bass: Ian Jennings, Dough Ford; Drums: DJ Fontana.
3 Scotty Moore & DJ Fontana: “All the King’s Men” : released on Polydor in 1997 (cat. no. 539 066-2), got rave reviews everywhere and then sank without a trace.
