June 27 - July 4, 1 9 9 6
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***1/2 Wayne Hancock

THUNDERSTORMS AND NEON SIGNS

(Dejadisc)

"I'm gonna go juke-joint jumpin'!", Wayne "The Train" shouts to open his staunchly retro honky-tonk debut. You'd think that the past 40 years of corporate Nashville country had never occurred. But forget about nostalgic social commentary and soul searching. Hancock writes rip-snortin' good-time Saturday-night party music as wide open as Texas.

Movin' is Wayne's muse. Nasal-voiced "Locomotive Joe" has train-rhythm guitar and a diesel-whistle trombone shot. On "Double-A Daddy," Alcoholics Anonymous member Hancock promises to drive for his drinking pals. Adamantly acoustic production features guitar, bass, and jaunty pedal steel plus a bit of New Orleans-like clarinet. No overdubs here. Drums? Wayne needs drums as little as Morphine need a guitar. This CD's so bouncy even its blues are upbeat. The spirit of Lefty Frizzell lives on.

-- Bruce Sylvester


(Wayne Hancock plays the Big Easy Bash in Escoheag, Rhode Island, this Saturday, June 29. Call 401-351-6312.)

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