Riley Etheridge Jr.’s The Straight and Narrow Way is a celebration of troubles to which your soul can’t help but sway.
Borrowing some very talented friends (including Allman Brother of the past Johnny Neel, Nickel Creek’s powerful presence Sara Watkins, and “the leading session drummer in America,” Jim Keltner), Etheridge made what he considers a “party record” that piles your best friends into the car of heartbreak and hopeless romanticism.
Based on the album title progression, one would start out with opening track “Song for Amy,” moving on to a quest for moral exemplars in “What’s a Man to Do?” Listening through the unintentional shock of “Heart Attack,” the loneliness and confusion of “The Maze (of My Own Creation)” and the self-assurance of “Even as We Fall,” we have a jazzy narrative that maintains an upbeat attitude straight through to the closing cut, “Down to My Last Twenty Dollars.” Lyrics like There won’t be no happy ending to this sad and sordid tale are sung with a balance of experience and jubilee.
Even if the music made on that side of the Mississippi isn’t your scene, this is still a fun album to play for a crawfish boil.
The concern that I have for Mr. Etheridge’s latest installment is his consistency: people will find that his reserved vocals—as well as the overall sound of the band—hits the same mark every time. The album has its own pace and energy, and it is well made, but does it justify ownership for the casual listener? You tell me.
