2014 CD Reviews - Lone Justice - "This Is Lone Justice: The Vaught Tapes, 1983"

Lone Justice

This Is Lone Justice - The Vaught Tapes, 1983

Omnivore Recordings - 2014

www.omnivorerecordings.com

You can call them a lot of things.

Whether it be rockabilly, cow-punk, country rock or alt-country, Lone Justice has managed to crossover into a lot of different genres when it came to describing their music.

But whatever you end up classifying them as, the overriding reaction to the band back in the early to mid 1980's was that they were just DAMN GOOD. Despite that, Lone Justice never really hit it big. Hell, the original band that recorded their self-titled first studio album was gone except for singer Maria McKee when the second album Shelter was released.

Nearly two years before the debut album came out, the band had already been a huge club draw in Los Angeles. Their live shows were so renowned that established artists like country singer Dolly Parton would come out to see them.

In late 1983, the band hooked up with David Vaught, who recorded the band live in studio to two track tape and used no overdubs to fix the sound mix. This was a recording done for the band itself and not something that had ever been planned for release.

The results capture the band's raw energy from their live performances, something they seem to feel was missing from the first album they recorded for Geffen Records. (A thing I feel kind of sad about considering how much I enjoyed both studio albums).

The album's liner notes feature a wealth of material for longtime fans and for the new people just learning about the band. There are essays from bassist Marvin Etzioni - in particular, he talks about David Vaught, whom he collaborated with a lot since '83 - guitarist Ryan Hedgecock talks about the process in which the band chose songs to include in their sets and on the recording. There is also a historical overview of the entire history of the band, including more information about David Vaught and what the members are doing these days. Also included is a brief note from Dolly Parton and a bunch of rare photos.

This album features 12 songs, some of which have been released in some form or another over the last 3 decades and other tracks that haven't been heard or made previously available to the public.

The band covered artists like George Jones ("Nothing Can Stop My Loving You"), Merle Haggard ("Working Man Blues") and the Johnny and June Carter Cash classic "Jackson". The latter was a particularly sweet track and was essentially a new track for me as I'd never heard this version. The Merle Haggard song plus "Rattlesnake Mama" and the amazing version of the country gospel song "This World Is Not My Home" were all previously released, but the remaining 9 tracks were all newly issued material.

Despite having a powerhouse vocal presence in McKee, the band had a lively instrumental track in "Vigilante" and saw McKee play just a supporting vocal role on "When Love Comes Home To Stay" which was written by and featured a lead vocal turn by Hedgecock. That song was a marvelous number all by itself.

The McKee written song "Soap, Soup and Salvation" actually did end up on the group's first official release but the version heard here was quite powerful in its own right. Much like "This World Is Not My Home," there is a definite sense of spirituality to the track.

The most surprising song on the album for me was "Cactus Rose". When I first heard this "new" song I didn't really think much of it. However, this pretty straight forward rock and roll cut grew on me and I can't stop listening to it now.

Noticeably absent from the disc is anything resembling a slow track. Everything you hear is pretty fast paced. You've got 12 songs on the CD and it clocks in at just over 33 minutes. And yet, despite the short length, you get a bountiful serving of a band just starting out, but knowing how they wanted to present their musical vision. It shows that, at barely 18, Maria McKee's voice was a thing of beauty not easily forgotten once heard.

In his essay, Ryan Hedgecock called this album an "audio snapshot". While the term is pretty accurate, it also serves as tribute and testament to David Vaught, who passed away in 2013.

For a band that had just two relatively unsuccessful studio albums, there has been a lot of love shown for them over the years. There have been other compilations but This Is Lone Justice: The Vaught Tapes, 1983 is the first full length release that gives both longtime fans and newcomers such an in-depth look at the earliest days of a career cut short while giving everyone a wealth of new material to obsess over.

Truly an audio snapshot to treasure for years to come!