REVIEW: Tommy Womack, Positively Na Na (Checkered Past)
- Bill Holmes
File this under "How the hell did I miss this one last year?" because this potpourri of countrified, witty rock and roll would have camped its butt somewhere in my "Best Of The Year" tome. Womack simply made the record everyone wishes Paul Westerberg would have made upon leaving the Replacements: irreverent, wry and bombastic, yet somehow lyrically poignant and subtle when it wants to be.
Womack is the author of The Cheese Chronicles, tales of life on the road will his ill-fated band Government Cheese, and his sharp eye for detail and characters is what makes Na Na so special. "Skinny And Small" is a Stonesy romp about a high school loser coming back to wreak havoc on his tormentors, much like Carrie's evil twin. The bluesy barroom stomp of "Sweet Hitchhiker" and slide rocking "She Ain't Speakin' To Me" would succeed with music alone, but coupled with Womack's tales of roadside psychotics, cross dressers and born losers, they're ten times as good.
The loping title track is probably the most Westerbergian (he even bastardizes a Mats lyrical couplet with "graduate unskilled/with a prom dress unfulfilled"). Along with the Dylanesque closer "I'll Give You Needles," this song shows just how powerful he can be with little more than words and an acoustic guitar. "A Little Bit Of Sex," one of his older songs, is thankfully included here. And how can you not like a guy who writes an ode to Cheetah Chrome, "the man with the orange Dead Boys dome?"
The supporting musicians are first rate, with Brad Jones (who also produced), Ross Rice, Al Perkins (yes, THAT Al Perkins), and guitarists George Bradfute and Mike Grimes among them. This Venn diagram of talent has its roots and tentacles into everything from Kevin Salem, Jason And The Scorchers and Bare Jr., to the cream of the new Nashville pop movement. Although the music is all over the map, there's a natural flow throughout Positively Na Na that makes it fresh and vital.
After eleven strong songs the record is over and you are left with that bittersweet feeling of wishing it would go on forever. Since it doesn't, I've found that playing it over and over again is just about as satisfying. Tommy Womack is a major talent and comes highly recommended. For more information visit the label website http://www.checkeredpast.com .
