Uncle Pecos (Music Man)

Uncle Pecos

By Kevin Gibson

In a world filled with labels, Uncle Pecos takes its own with a grain of salt.

While the band's first full-length and certainly the band itself, is decidedly country, Uncle Pecos sneaks in elements of various musical styles with just about every song it plays.

And when you get right down to it, whatever the label, it's all called "music," right?

Uncle Pecos, 10-song release four years in the making by the Louisville quintet, offers straightforward yet subtly eclectic country which should translate well to a number of audiences.

"Play With the Baby's Momma" kicks off the album with southern rock overtones and gives way to the smooth ballad "Candle" which, with its delicate pop flavor, may be the best track in the collection.

Uncle Pecos – which hit the national airwaves in 1992 with "Buy American" – shows more of its best stuff on "First Solo Flight," the toe-tapping "Daddy's Back Pocket" and "Trunk of the Tree," thanks to wonderful vocal harmonies. As is true with most country music, vocals dominate the sound and this band is blessed with several fine singing voices.

At just over 30 minutes, the album's main drawback is that the cassette player seems to click off almost as soon as the "play" button is pushed; we could chalk that up as a credit to the writing, however. This band doesn't dwell on its songs too long, choosing instead to make its point, set the hook and get out. The longest track is "Love the Hurt Away" at 3:57, with most never cracking the three-minute mark.

Perhaps Uncle Pecos is just trying to whet our appetites. I must admit I'm interested in hearing a recorded rendition of "The Letter," a Box Tops tune UP plays live with a bluesy ferocity not heard in the original.

Conway Twitty and Dwight Yoakam scored big with cover songs; why not Uncle Pecos?