Fred Eaglesmith "Drive-In Movie" (1996)

FLY LIKE AN EAGLE

• If you don't know Fred Eaglesmith then this is the album to start. The emotion and images he emotes are priceless.

• When I first saw Fred open for Robert Earl Keen in Houston several years ago, I was blown away. Had I not been told he was from Canada, I'd have sworn he was from West Texas. He has the same edgy, heartfelt yet humorous approach to songwriting that such Texas legends as Robert Earl Keen, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Joe Ely, and Steve Earle share.

• Eaglesmith's voice is rough as rocks, and fragile as men's hearts. The 'backing' by W.P.Bennett (Juno this year) and R.Schipper is great as always, and D.Pendrith's bassplay and P. Vonalthen's drumming is solid work. Still, and again, it's the feeling of the record that gets to you. The feeling only an Fred Eaglesmith album can bring to life. His lyrics is down to earth, white-thrash kinda beautiful statements on trains and cars and relationships and, well; life.

• Four songs in particular are suberb. "Crashin' & Burnin'" is what I call a heartbreaker in real terms. No hope, no salvation, just a big black hole. "White Rose" is about an old gas station just outside of town that they are shutting down and the lyrics tell its story "And that neon sign was the heart and soul of this ol' one horse town; And it's like it lost its will to live, the day they shut it down."

• The other songs that I find exemplary are "Soda Machine" (now, come on, how many people can write songs about a soda machine and almost bring you to tears!) and of course, the title song "Drive-in Movie" with lyrics like "The phone broke the silence like the screaming of the siren and I just sat beside it took another drag on my cigarette swore I'd never smoke again and I watched the rain."

• Be dumped by your woman through seven years, get drunk, and stay drunk - for about three weeks, wake up and play 'Drive-in Movie'. It gets the feeling just right. Makes me wanna go way up in the mountains and just listen, just feel.

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