What's Wrong with Right

(Proper American) Following hot on the heels of last year’s acclaimed self titled debut album, Chris Gaffney (The Cold Hard Facts, Dave Alvin’s Guilty Men) and Dave Gonzalez (The Paladins), along with Hank Maninger, Dale Daniel, and Dave "DB" Berzansky, again team up as the Hacienda Brothers for their sophomore release, What’s Wrong With Right. With legendary Memphis producer/songwriter (and musician in his own right) Dan Penn once again at the helm, Chris and Dave pick up where their debut left off and continue building their bridge between the honky tonks of Bakersfield and the sweet, classic soul music of Muscle Shoals and Memphis, creating a sound they refer to as “Western Soul.” As with their debut album, What’s Wrong With Right consists of several Gonzalez-Gaffney penned originals and another sterling Gonzalez/Penn collaboration. They also include a few covers, this time around choosing a few classics from the hand of Dan Penn. In addition to his songwriting contributions, Dave also steps up and takes over production duties on a few of the album’s tracks.

What’s Wrong With Right opens with a contagious blue-eyed soul groove via the mid-tempo “Midnight Dream,” while they flawlessly shift over to some bluesy funk-soul for “Keep It Together,” that features smoking solos from Dave on guitar and DB on steel. The Hacienda’s prove they’re no shrinking violets and definitely mean business as they take on a few songs that are ensconced as soul classics. From the songbook of Penn/Oldham, they tear through the Box Tops’ hit,  “Cry Like A Baby,” delivering an impressive rendition that combines the soulfulness of the original, while infusing it with a few western flavored twists and turns of their own, including a subtle Tex-Mex beat, a dash of steel, blistering Bakersfield guitar riffs and bouncy accordion licks. On the surface, the combination sounds like the outcome would be a mismatch nothing short of a train wreck; however, the Hacienda’s skillfully accomplish the feat of making it work to great effect. They tackle the Percy Sledge hit, “It Tears Me Up,” the result here being one of the album’s highlights, courtesy of Chris’ soulfully brilliant, gut wrenching vocal delivery that’s accentuated by gently weeping steel in the background and further punctuated by anguished flourishes of brass. The Hacienda’s briefly head a little further north to deliver a bit of Philly soul by slyly revisiting The Intruders’ coming-of-age Gamble & Huff penned hit, “Cowboys To Girls.” Once again Chris perfectly nails down the vocals, and as they remain faithful to the original, they incorporate a warm, western twist to it with the addition of DB’s tenderly graceful steel playing. They deliver a gritty, emotionally soulful rendition of “Life’s Little Ups And Downs,” an oft-covered song that has roots in both soul and country music having been a hit for performers in both genres, most prominently, Brook Benton, Charlie Rich and Ricky Van Shelton.  

Interspersed among these classic soul gems, the Hacienda’s delve deeply into their western roots on the balance of the album. For all his yearning to explore his country roots throughout his tenure with The Paladins, Dave Gonzalez has taken to them like a fish to water. The proof couldn’t be more evident than in the album’s stunner of a title track, “What’s Wrong With Right.”  Co-written with Dan Penn, it’s a beautiful, steel laced waltzing heartache weeper, this time injecting a healthy dose of soul into a classically traditional country song, one that would be perfectly at home on a George Jones album. “The Last Time” is another strong Gonzalez original, a first rate classic Ray Price style 4/4 shuffle. The mid-tempo honky tonk two-stepper, “Different Today,” combines an intriguing mix of several different styles- it’s a little bit western, a little bit Bakersfield and a little bit Tex-Mex, while “The Warning” has that Waylon-esque outlaw groove to it. The offbeat tale of an Irish boxer is given the Tex-Mex treatment on “If Daddy Don’t Sing Danny Boy Tonight,” and the breezy, up-tempo rockabilly tinged “Rebound,” sounds delightfully like the aftermath of a collision between Elvis and The Texas Tornados. What’s Wrong With Right closes out the same way as it’s predecessor. The Hacienda’s debut album closed with Dave Gonzalez’s gorgeously moody, spaghetti western style instrumental “Saguaro.” Here, they close out with the equally strong sequel, “Son Of Saguaro.”

When the Hacienda Brothers were formed, Chris Gaffney came to the table with plenty of country/roots music experience under his belt, as well as having a reputation for owning one of the most uniquely soulful voices around. Though gruff and rough around the edges, he can belt out a song with the best of them, consistently delivering a wide-ranging depth of emotion and dead perfect phrasing. For years as front man for the blues-rockabilly-roots outfit, The Paladins, Dave Gonzalez longed to explore country music. After getting the opportunity to team up with Chris and start his exploration, he’s proven himself a quick study. Through working and writing with Chris and Dan, not only has he evolved into a strong songwriter with a firm grasp on traditional country music, he also brings to the table his impeccable talent as a guitarist with roots in blues and rockabilly- which is after all, but a stone’s throw away from R&B. Under Dan Penn’s stewardship, Dave’s also proven he’s coming into his own as a talented, capable producer. The result is that the Hacienda’s trump their debut album with What’s Wrong With Right. DB Berzansky’s steel guitar is a constant presence throughout the album, and along with touches of accordion, honky tonk guitar licks, and southwest flavored horns, they infuse a decidedly country fried flavor into the album’s soul material, allowing them to effortlessly make a smooth, seamless transition to the album’s more traditionally honky tonk/country based material. The sound is at once classic and traditional, yet modern and urban. It all fits perfectly together and with What’s Wrong With Right, the Hacienda Brothers continue to deliver a refreshingly unique mix of honky tonk-soul-Mexicali-blues…or what they call Western Soul. 

 ©AnnMarie Harrington, TakeCountryBack July 2006