Oh, who'll see you again! Destined to go down in history as one of the (many) glorious meteors of the 80s, now dominated by the solo career – and charisma – of their singer Maria McKee, Lone Justice are surprisingly reborn from their ashes, with a new album after almost 40 years. The first since “Shelter” (1987), the second chapter of what seemed to all intents and purposes to be a project concluded prematurely, despite having attracted some rock bigwigs to its court born in the USA: Steve Van Zandt aka Little Steven, legendary guitarist of Bruce Springsteen, producer Jimmy Iovine, Tom Petty and most of the Heartbreakers, plus an incognito Annie Lennox, who gave some vocal cameos.
The new album by the Californian band is proudly titled “Viva Lone Justice” and was made with the lineup that gave life to the beautiful debut LP of 1985: Maria McKee on vocals, guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and bassist Marvin Etzioni, plus the contribution from drummer Don Heffington, who unfortunately passed away on March 24, 2021. How it was possible to create it is easy to say: it is an old/new hybrid. A few years ago, in fact, after Heffington's death, Etzioni found a pile of tapes dating back to the early 90s, in which he recorded demo on two tracks with the drummer together with his ex-Lone Justice bandmate, Maria McKee, for his second solo album, “You Gotta Sin To Get Saved”. Etzioni thus proposed that McKee use the material in his next solo work. But she, surprisingly, invited him to look for Hedgecock and turn the project into a new Lone Justice album.
Later, more tapes and a live track (“Nothing Can Stop My Loving You”) were discovered and added to the setlist. Etzioni also supervised, using the original recordings as a basis and layering in new parts, mainly Hedgecock's guitars and harmonies. Joining the company are Tammy Rogers (Dead Reckoning) on violin and strings, David Ralicke on woodwinds and Greg Leisz on steel guitarplus Benmont Tench of the Heartbreakers – one of deus ex machina of the original project – on the floor. The only instruments not overdubbed were Heffington's drums, out of respect for the deceased drummer, who Etzioni defines as “our Ringo”.
The result was a collection of fun and vibrant songs, full of that irrepressible energy that exuded from the band at the time: who remembers that blonde little girl called Maria, wrapped around her Telecaster, shouting out her fiery cowpunk sermons together with her crew of musicians dressed in black like Mormons, on a hot Roman afternoon in 1987, waiting for U2 on The Joshua Tree Tour? Well, finding her like this, with that intact freshness and exuberance, shouting out in the back and forth with Hedgecock in the wild rereading of traditional “Jenny Jenkins” is truly a heart-stopping experience that cannot fail to excite those who lived that short season intensely.
However, if the Lone Justice of the 80's constantly oscillated between their country roots (or “cow-punk”) and that rock tension brought as a gift by their excellent godfathers (Tom Petty and Little Steven), this new work is proudly planted in country land, starting with homages such as “Nothing Can Stop My Loving You”, a classic written by George Jones and Roger Miller and sung for the first time by Jimmy Dean, here taken from a 1984 concert by the band, accompanied by Joel Sonnier on accordion; or like the famous “I Will Always Love You”, embellished by Rogers' violin and the steel guitar by Greg Leisz and fortunately brought back to its original sober spirit, that of Dolly Parton who wrote it in 1973, on the same day in which she composed “Jolene”: the song then dominated the country charts also in the subsequent version by Linda Ronstadt (from the album “Prisoners In Disguise”, 1975) before being melted into molasses by poor Whitney Houston in her very cute cover-bestseller.
Also strengthening the bond with the roots is the repechage of the traditional “Rattlesnake Mama”, which Lone Justice already performed live in their concerts in 1983 – here in an acoustic version with Hedgecock on harmonica and Rogers on violin – of the cheeky hillbilly of “Alabama Baby” (pearl recorded for the first time by the Armstrong Twins in the 1940s) and the rockabilly reinterpretation of “Skull And Cross Bones”, which Sparkle Moore (alias Barbara Morgan) released in 1956 as the B-side to the single “Rock-a-Bop”.
But above all it is a (predictable) triumph of vocalist. Still far from the dark spells of the tormented “Life Is Sweet”, McKee dominates with her ringing voice reaching absolute heights in the initial “You Possess Me” (signed by Etzioni), where she sings a cappella accompanied in the background by a string quartet and mandolin, in the flamboyant cover of the 1978 single “Teenage Kicks” by the Undertones, interpreted with pure punk flair on Hedgecock's magma of distorted guitars, and in the poignant “Wade In The Water” which revives the gospel-spiritual roots of the band (who reminiscent of the old “Don't Toss Us Away” and “You Are The Light”?) with a song of jubilation that dates back to the days of slavery.
Closing the circle is the other spirited country-swing style reinterpretation of “Sister Anne” by Mc5 with the piano in style barrelhouse by Benmont Tench and the winds by David Ralicke.
Net of some excess of exuberance and a somewhat amateurish packaging, “Viva Lone Justice” is a pleasant album, which thrives above all on heartfelt reinterpretations of timeless classics, entrusted to one of the best singers of her generation and her experienced (at the time) ensemble. Those expecting new songs by Lone Justice, however, will be disappointed and perhaps will be able to console themselves by listening to Maria McKee's latest, excellent solo album, “La Vita Nuova” (2020). For all those who didn't know them and who perhaps are curious, the advice is to go and listen to the two LPs from the 80s, “Lone Justice” and “Shelter”: their real jewels are found there. In the meantime, all that remains is to say “welcome back Lone Justice”, even if it will only be for the time of a reunion with old friends.
10/29/2024
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
