Yee-haw! Rock n Roll cowboys and cowgirls far and wide have reason to celebrate. Strummin" With The Devil: The Southern Side Of Van Halen: A Tribute, has arrived at a record store near you. Chock full of good "ol fashioned bluegrass, country swing, and down home acoustic renditions of some of Van Halen"s better known and best loved songs, this is an album of spirited and sometimes uneven recordings that often hits it"s mark and yet other times is off target just a tad. But whatever the case may be, it"s a solid piece of work that despite it"s diverse group of musicians and somewhat varied styles will have you doing a little two step on you your living room floor and quite possibly trading in your "ol gee-tar for a country fiddle and a washboard straight from great grandmas back porch. Ever wonder what Eruption would sound like being played by a middle-aged fat guy who wields a banjo rather than an electric six string? Well friends, neighbors, and hillbillies, look no further.
Coming straight out of the gate with a good time on it"s mind we are first treated to a fine rollicking and rockin" version of Van Halen"s "Jump" and a sorrowful and bluesy "Jamie"s Cryin", with none other then "Diamond" David Lee Roth himself making an appearance on both tracks fronting The John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band on lead vocals through the two classic rockers, acoustic style. Fiddle, banjo, dobro, upright bass, and of course acoustic guitar are all on hand here, and if Dave"s vocal performance for Jump is just a bit too close to the spirit of the original to suit the music, he redeems himself nicely on Jamie"s Cryin", his thin and breathy tenor lending the song an earthy and wholesome feel that is appropriate for the mellow music and lyrics until the band kicks up a little storm toward the end that brings the whole thing home in a furious bluegrass "ho down. Unfortunately (or not so unfortunately, some might say) this would be the last time Dave makes an appearance on the album and so we never really know what he may of done with these songs in this setting if more work were put in. But it get"s things off to a good start and yet more goodness, Diamond Dave or no, is still to come.
From here on we are treated to 12 more tracks featuring no less than 10 musical acts of varying bluegrass, country, and Americana stylings churning out these old warhorse rock numbers like they were written and born down on the bayou itself. Popular "acoustic county"/bluegrass band Mountain Heart take "Dance The Night Away" around the block for a spin and lend it a nice, breezy, good time Saturday night at the fair vibe that suits this formerly good time rock n roll song to a tee, and banjo playing virtuoso Tony Trischka grabs a group of like minded and spirited bluegrass musicians for a rousing and energetic rendition of "I Can"t Wait To Feel Your Love Tonight" from Van Halen"s almost thirty year old debut album. Bluegrass rock n roll cover band Cornbread Red show up just past the midway point of the record to lend "Panama" the same down home treatment they have lent whole albums featuring Def Leppard, Green Day, Nickelback, and (gasp) Linkin Park bluegrass covers in the past. And highly regarded session player David Grissom (who has recorded and toured with the likes of Joe Ely, Chris Isaak, John Mellencamp, and The Allman Brothers Band, to name just a few) shows up as "David Grissom and Sons" to have a spirited go at an all instrumental meltdown of the once all electric and now all acoustic screamer "Hot For Teacher", acoustic guitar and violin taking the place of Eddie Van Halen"s electric guitar and David Lee Roth"s vocals in the arrangement. It"s an uproarious rendition of this now VH classic that is sure to have any fan of the band, or any bluegrass fan for that matter, grinning from ear to ear.
As successful as many of these cuts are however, a little more than a handful are not quite as well suited for this treatment as others. And some of the more average performances on this album bring that to light. The John Cowan Band give "Runnin With The Devil" a fairly ordinary acoustic workout that could almost be Van Halen themselves if not for some violin and banjo thrown into the mix, and "country, rock, metal, pop, whatever" band (and that is a direct band quote) Iron Horse do little more than rush through uptempo countrified versions of "Ain"t Talkin" "Bout Love" and "Unchained", respectively. Not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, these tracks nonetheless fall short of the creativity and originality of the more successful cuts on the album, and ultimately come off as performances that are neither here nor there with regard to bringing something new and intriguing to this often times colorful mix of tunes. Luckily for us the album finishes strong with the perfectly suited for this record "Ice Cream Man" by country/bluegrass guitarist Larry Cordle, who offers a fun and soulful version of the Van Halen concert fave, and making their third appearance on the album The John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band show up once more to send us off with an interesting and entertaining version of "And The Cradle Will Rock" from VH"s third album "Women And Children First". And rounding things out from that same album is a very authentic and warm rendition of "Could This Be Magic" by the excellent Nashville Bluegrass Band. All swirling guitar, banjo, and twangy vocals, it brings it all home in fine fashion before we finally reach the fat man with a banjo rendition of "Eruption" by way of the nimble and skillful fingers of one Dennis Caplinger. A spot on version of Eruption if ever there was one, this simply has to be heard to be believed. And somewhere out in Hollywoodland I"m sure Eddie Van Halen is beaming like a proud papa.
Strummin" With The Devil: The Southern Side Of Van Halen: A Tribute, is not a great record. There are too many fingers in the pie to even conceive that it could be. It has it"s share of hits, and also a few misses, as it tackles these Van Halen nuggets in a totally new vein. But what it is is a spirited and sometimes surprisingly good album of some pretty good old hard rock songs that always did have a little something more to them then screaming guitars and a brash and egotistical singer. The sense of fun, good times, and loose living of the original songs are all here for the most part in these acoustic recordings. And it goes to show that whatever you call it, country, folk, bluegrass, acoustic, Americana, or rock n roll, a musical and stylistic link exists that ties all these wonderful art forms together. And on albums such as this, which clearly puts that fact on full display for all to hear, we are just a little richer for it.
