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analysis w/e 14.5.11 |
DVDs out 9.5.11 |
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@ DVDfever Youtube |
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May 11 2011 
DVDfever co uk
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One man and his acoustic guitar. Little is known about Detroit Rebellion, other than that he was once a Census Bureau worker, a farmer and, yes indeedy, a politician. Oh and, he was once a member of experimental post-punk rockers Bossman from Rhode Island, who were pretty darned awful. I suppose that’s enough actually. His pictures and videos show him behind cool shades and a hat, sporting a trim beard. Musically he cites Tennessee Ernie Ford, Leadbelly, Johnny Cash (and oddly, Joy Division, not that you’d know it). This all leads to a kind of acoustic blues and folk rock. In spirit, his work is more akin with the likes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger et al. This no-frills collection warrants close inspection purely for the bravery shown in releasing a CD with no other instrumentation, which is a tough call. DR writes stories about the remote back roads he probably encountered, and inevitably many characters en route, along with social commentary. He’s also got a keen ear for political and social conflict, so his opening song Don’t Make Waves is about civil liberties, and Meeting Of The Minds deals subtly about political division. Unlike so many who tackle sensitive issues, there’s no hint of real revolution or anger, just pure’n’simple reportage 21st century style. To his credit, as far as I’m aware, no-one else is doing this type of stuff, especially as well, and some might see parallels with the embryonic flourishes of a young Bob Dylan.
Presumably his job at the Census Bureau inspired the threatening role he found himself in, as he strolled the streets for information on The Numbers; however he sees it as a paranoiac measure. Bob Dylan wrote masterfully about boxer Rubin Carter’s case of mistaken identity, and here DR does one for himself, though no specific name is mentioned, so we could assume the Detroit riots of ’68 provided inspiration. Like many of the lyrics, there’s a great deal of obscurity in terms of actual reference points. Again injustice pops up in the form of War Crimes where he sees the inability to convict was criminals, even though their identities are known, though again, no names are mentioned as he effectively skirts around the issue without potential recrimination. Further-in, The Rabbit is a clever, but short, tale of master and servant, looking at the issues of freedom and enslavement, while New Orleans deals with the social issues in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The verdict: a real troubadour.
Weblink: detroitrebellion.com / myspace.com/detroitrebellion
The full list of tracks included are :
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
