Proud Kentuckian Ian Noe channels his formative influences as he tells the story of the fictional Canyon Falls Trailer Band for his expansive, ambitious third album.
CHANNELING THE SPIRITS
Born and raised in Beattyville, Kentucky, Ian Noe has a longstanding fascination with the people, landscapes and traditions of his homeland. It’s a fascination that permeates every fibre of his recorded output, from his 2019 debut album, Between the Country, through the 20212 follow-up, River Fools & Mountain Saints and which finds a comfortable home in Ian’s new album, Canyon Falls Trailer Band.
Canyon Falls Trailer Band is an expansive collection – 16 songs, spread across four sides of vinyl. It’s a concept album that tells the story of a fictional group, Canyon Falls Trailer Band, which performs a legendary showcase in Nashville in an attempt to secure a recording contract. Along the way, Ian draws on a wide range of musical influences from pensive singer-songwriters to folk-rock, country-rock, and true-blue honky-tonk and hard country. Indeed, close your eyes as you listen and you’re sure to imagine that the spirits of Hank Williams, Gram Parsons and others are there in the room with you.
STAR COLLABORATORS
As Noe tells it, on the night of the big Nashville show, the imaginary band expertly move between genres in an attempt to entice music industry executives. We’re not told whether they were successful – that part of the story is left to the imagination of the listener…
Behind the storytelling is a real album, recorded with longtime collaborator Andrija Tokić at Nashville studio The Bomb Shelter. It features contributions from Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie McCoy on harmonica, lauded fiddle player Billy Contreras, and Russ Pahl on pedal steel, perhaps best known for his collaborations with T-Bone Burnett. Most of the performances were captured live during an intensive week of recording before additional overdubs and mixing were completed over subsequent months. The approach was intended to preserve the spontaneity of a live performance while expanding the arrangements.
There’s a lot of material on Canyon Falls Trailer Band and I doubt that I’d keep your attention if I provided a track-by-track commentary of the album. Suffice to say that this is an eminently listenable album and its scope is such that just about every aspect of country music – bluegrass, country waltzes, weepies, Burritos-style rock, gentle ballads and more – is captured within the 16 tracks. And the album is stuffed to the brim with memorable highlights.
JUST A REDNECK SUIT…
Special mention is probably due to the contributions of fiddler Billy Contreras and pedal steel master Russ Pahl, whose contributions pervade every corner of the album and leave the listener gasping in admiration. And, of course, Ian’s vocals are pristine; clear, articulate and tuneful – and he has an amazing knack of channeling his influences within his tones. Gram, Hank, Dylan – even Don Williams: they’re all here to be picked out.
So: what about those copious highlights? Well – let’s start with the title track – the album’s opener. It’s a song that sets the scene for the whole album in a wholly positive way. A sleazy, slippery country ballad, built around strummed acoustic guitars and awash with the irrepressible sound of Billy’s fiddle. Ian’s lyrics introduce the members of the fictional band and, as they assemble to get their act together, warn that there ‘ain’t much money’ to be made, and express confidently that: “Someday we’re gonna make it.”
The chugging country rock of The Heidelburg Fisherman’s Ball, filled with swoops of pedal steel and more of Billy’s glorious fiddle is good-time, boozy Americana at its best, and Russ shines like a beacon on the bluegrass-tinged Kentucky Hurricane. Redneck Mess is a raucous stomper with a rousing, widescreen chorus. Ian’s lyrics celebrate the joys of a simple life that has none of the trappings of the well-off – just a ‘redneck suit and a pair of old brown boots’ – and Ian’s voice is infused with the tones of Gram as he sings them.
INTERSTELLAR ANGELS
The spirit of Gram is also present in the bright, sunny, Another Night Like This, a song that reminds me of one of Gram’s Louvin Brothers interpretations, such as The Christian Life. It’s a refreshing foot-tapper and, once again, Russ rises to the occasion with more of his sublime pedal steel.
The album’s press release describes the excellent Leeann as: “…a lovelorn country ballad,” and that’s exactly what it is. Russ’s pedal steel lays on the tears, the piano provides the background scenery and Ian’s vocals add the sweet memories. And the ghost of Gram Parsons makes a welcome return for Return of the Interstellar Angels. The clue is in the song’s title but, just in case that isn’t obvious enough, the message is drilled home by oblique references to Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Ian’s lyrics continue the story of the Canyon Falls Trailer Band and they make it clear that the band are following a well-trodden path, as they ‘pay their dues’ and ‘fly down the road to new frontier.’
“LIKING TO PARTY DOESN’T MAKE YOU GEORGE JONES”
Ian pays a suitably dour tribute to ill-fated Texan musician Blaze Foley with the intense Jukebox Blues (For Blaze Foley), before another influence makes his hefty presence felt with Dixie Speed. This time, it’s Bob Dylan that seems to provide Ian’s inspiration, notably with his 1976 song, Isis. Ian adopts Dylan’s resigned tones as he sings, and his howls are as anguish-laden as Dylan’s. The fiddle-assisted, bass-heavy accompaniment is relentless and the song’s upbeat, hoe-down ending is a genuine surprise.
Album closer, Kickin’ It In Nashville, concludes the Canyon Falls Trailer Band story. It’s a wry honky-tonk tale tracing a country singer’s journey through Music City — from open mics and airport day jobs to record deals, debt and disillusionment. Ian’s lyrics take thinly-disguised potshots at the likes of HARDY, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs before quipping that: “…liking to party doesn’t make you George Jones,” and we’re left to ponder whether Canyon Falls Trailer Band got the break they we’re longing for. On the evidence of this excellent album, they surely deserved it…
Listen to Heidelburg Fisherman’s Ball – one of the many highlights of Canyon Falls Trailer Band – below:
Ian Noe: Website