Elly Roberts reviews

Watermelon Slim: Escape From The Chicken Coop

Distributed by
Northern Blues Music

Released: August 2009

Rating: 8/10

Vote and comment on this album:

View Comments

Bluesman heads onto... a different highway.

Bill Homans, professionally known as Watermelon Slim, has been doing the rounds for many years now, thrilling his fans with scintillating albums since 1973’s Merry Airbreaks. He had a lean spell for nigh on 30 years and returned to the recording studio in 2003 with Big Shoes To Fill followed by four more albums, his last No Paid Holidays in 2008.

His more recent work has been a derivative of the fashionable delta blues, but Escape…sees him broadening his horizons, which is a tribute to “one of the true working class voices of America “, the late Dave Dudley. Slim is best known for being an acoustic player, occasionally dabbling in Dobro guitar. Here, his chosen instrument is the slide guitar for most of the time with the Dobro appearing on one song – Wreck On The Highway.

This time around he’s incorporated country leanings fusing honky-tonk to great effect. This cross-country gem is full of delightful ditties that have great cross-over appeal.

With a bachelors degree in journalism and history, and a masters degree in history, Slim has been a champion of the truckers plight for many years and many of his songs are from experiences on the road himself.

He blasts off with a raucous Caterpillar Whine with his tight 5-piece band thrashing out the country-fuelled romp with dazzling style, as shows a fine set of blistering skills on the slide. It’s a commemoration to days on the big beasts. Jolly Skinny Women... is also reminder of his time on the road and all those roadside greasy spoons. There’s a similar mood of reflection on the earthy, laidback gospel-hued ballad Wreck On The Highway (check the understated guitar picks and gritty husky tones for authenticity) while 300 Miles brings some dazzling steel guitar dexterity with a deep country feel. Truck Drivin’ Songs hints at the lonely days spent trawling the highways and by-ways of America with the promise of company of his return home, and he’s not tempted by the attention of the ladies on the road scene. Lamenting his lack of friendship for his buddy, Should Have Done More sees the bluesman veer more the rockier Delta blues of his past.

Jenny Littleton, who sounds remarkably like Dolly Parton, gives a country masterclass as she duets with our Slim on the bluegrass-tinged You See Me Like I See You, arguably the best song here.

The verdict – Top album.

Weblink: watermelonslim.com

The full list of tracks included are :

1. Caterpillar Whine 2. Skinny Women And Fat Cigars 3. You See Me Like I See You 4. Wreck On The Highway 5. Friends On The Porch 6. Should Have Done More 7. Hank Williams You Wrote My Life 8. America’s Wives 9. The Way I Am 10. It’s Never Too Hard To Be Humble 11. 300 Miles 12. Truck Drivin’ Songs 13. 18,18 Wheeler

Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: