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Ernie Payne was born in Louisana and steeped in music as he grew up. Although music was all around him, and regarded as one of the key components to a quality life, it was not seen by his family as a way to earn a living. Despite that, Payne has worked as both a songwriter, and a frontman, as well as spending time as a civil servant. Now, though, he has got round to releasing his first album, "Coercion Street" which brings together his talents for everybody to appreciate.
Payne plays acoustic guitar and dobro throughout, and handles all the lead vocals. Do not be fooled by the intro of the opening track, "Curse of Hamm," however. Payne is accompanied by a band on most of the tracks, they just take a short while to join the party. The style is reminiscent of some of the best work of John Hiatt, which is a very good thing in my book. Payne's songs tend to be fairly relaxed affairs, although this sometimes belies the depth to his lyrics.
Many of the songs here deal with the traditional blues topic of broken relationships. Even if the topic is a turn-off, you can still admire the tunes, and Payne's voice. The style is mostly roots/blues, although "Mother's Uncle" is more like an acoustic gospel song. The band also go into waltz mode for the excellent title track, before later switching into pseudo-ZZ Top mode for "Nothing Wrong With Texas (That Leaving Won't Fix)," which works equally well.
The balance between the guitars of Payne and producer Rob Zucca (electric guitar for the most part) is highly effective. The only slightly odd take comes on the ballad "W.I.P." which, in a few places, brought back memories of "Float On" by The Floaters. In contrast, the pick of the tracks is probably just "Ancient Eyes," a terrific slow number, which starts with a spoken vocal, which then gioves way to the closing instrumental, "Joanne's Theme."
"Coercion Street" is a fine start to Ernie Payne's recording career. Largely comprising roots/blues songs, the most natural comparison is John Hiatt, possibly triggered by Payne's voice, but also the overall sound too. Payne is an accomplished singer/songwriter, deserving of a wider audience. The album has also been released on the Black & Tan label in Europe, and Payne is due to tour there in the Fall. "Coercion Street" suggests that Ernie Payne is definitely one worth keeping an eye out for.
www.blackandtan.com
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