Archer ST. Blues Charlier Records CR001 Abigail Blues – Slow Movin Girl – Little Mae – Off His Leash – Hard Time Getting’ Started – Man Without Shame – Bare Bones – The Best Of You – Straight Razor Boogie – Archer ST. Blues – Rather Do It Alone – True Fine Mama The Starkweather Boys, a quartet although they have some guests on this recording, come from Oklahoma and this is their first album. They’re not the ones you can easily put in one box as they like to play different types of music and alternate styles. With a majority of self penned tunes (with the exception of three) this debut album will delight everyone who like good rockin’ roots music with no boundaries, their references are to be found between the early 40’s to the late 60’s. They open with a great rockin’ boogie blues “Abigail Blues” and ends in a fantastic Sonny Burgess influenced rendition of Little Richard’s “True Fine Mama” with piano and trombone. In between you’ll find a damn good western swing tune “Archer St. Blues” (a tribute to Bob Wills and his partners in crime), with full orchestration : fiddle, piano, trombone and steel guitar ; a bunch of blues numbers from rocking blues to swinging blues ; a Honky Tonk with that distinctive shuffle in the best song writing tradition of Wynn Stewart and Harlan Howard (The Best Of You). The pedal steel solo on this one is worth the price of this cd alone. Some wild rockers and rockabillies are thrown in the mix too with slap bass to the fore (Straight Razor Baby, Off The Leash). The musicianship is impressive but with guys who’ve played with Eddie Bond, Wanda Jackson, Big Al Downing and Mack Stevens you can’t go wrong, can you? Impressive too is McPherson’s vocals. This guy can swing, croon, weep and scream. If you like American music you’ll find something for you in this album, and chances are the whole one will get your vote. This fine piece of music comes in a very well designed package with lyrics inside. Fred "Virgil" Turgis