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Written by Danny McCloskey – 11.2.2014
It was inspiration that bailed Sid Whelan out of a non-professional musical life in 2012. And his return to recording uses the stamp of Whelan for his recent release, Flood Waters Rising. The album stays ahead of rain and the cold climes of an Ohio winter as it boards from track number one for “Frisco Line”. The tune is a folk blues romp that sways while it sticks to libations available in the legal lounge, sipping on whiskey and wine, leaving the moonshine back in the Buckeye State. Whelan keeps the Blues riding shotgun on Flood Water Rising, and it give direction to the album without ever needing to take the wheel. This is album number one for Whelan to deliver a three-disc set entitled Americana Trilogy, following the Blues tone of Flood Water Rising with country and rock’n’roll themed releases.
“Bird Nest on the Ground” jazzes its blues to offer a Mose Allison texture that buffers the story’s edge. The rhythm section huffs and puffs under Sid’s sung/spoken tale as it gets in the ring with chance (“Dog in the Fight”) while soft waves of guitar notes sail words of advice (“Lighten Up”). Whelan are happy to entertain yet they are reluctant messiahs in “I Can’t Write Love Songs”, admitting that they are first in line when leading the masses to revolution but when it comes to the heart, the muse has left the building.
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