Thompsons revive honky-tonk nostalgia

By Bobbi Becker, Special to the On-line Forty-Niner

May 7,1998

 

With pounding drums, strumming six- and 12-string guitars and some nasal vocals that fit in as well as they need to, the Thompson Brothers Band has obviously spent a fair amount of time playing bars, the road and the pavement in proving its sound will persevere.

 

"Blame It on the Dog," the group's second album, invites the past to the present by mixing sounds derived from Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers and even Roy Orbison. The honky-tonk rowdiness doesn't stop at the CD cover.

 

Brothers Andy and Mike Thompson began their musical careers in the Boston suburbs playing their father's Willie Nelson eight-track tapes, then moving on to guitar and drums.

 

At the age of 13, they added neighborhood friend Mike Whitty, and a band was born.

 

The Thompsons headed for Nashville. It was there, playing eight sets in rhythm with the clatter of the nearby trains, that the Thompsons learned how to do what they do best: grab an audience.

 

"Blame It on the Dog" kicks off with "Life's Too Short." Andy burns deep with this soul-wrenching song reminiscent of Orbison's "A Million Miles Away."

 

The brothers match up with Steve Earle and his harmonica and steel guitar on "Pick Up the Temp." The trio hits a country-mountain high tone as it winds a trail through this foot-stomper.

 

Despite being rather young, the Thompson Brothers Band refreshes with a delightful and old-fashioned country approach.

 

For the members, progress seems to come as they return more and more to their musical roots.

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