Tablescraps

Why should you pay any attention to a disc that by its own admission is the musical equivalent of leftovers? Because Lefty Jones is a talented songwriter and this collection of demos and basement tapes is full of little unpolished gems. Most tracks feature just Jones singing and playing guitar. On the electric guitar tracks, his amplifier sounds like it was bought at a garage sales. When he goes acoustic, we hear his fingers sliding over the strings. Experiments with different instrumentation are also fruitful. Jones’ gravelly rasp isn’t for everyone, but it befits the rye tone of his songs and within the protest ballad tradition.

For fans of: Billy Bragg, Woody Guthrie.
FCC violation on Track 14.
**1. (3:29) A funeral dirge complete with drum beat for march and haunting tuba.
2. (4:08) Warbled electric guitar heavy on reburb and whisper sung vocals.
***3. (4:15) Sing-a-long melody over acoustic guitar. Rhymes euphonium with pandemonium and has a verse about M&M colors.
4. (3:09) Piano protest song with loose rhyme scheme.
***5. (4:14) Bluesy trio piece with discs best lyric “You make me lose my moral compass.”
** 6. (2:42) Folk acoustic guitar with hooky chorus.
7. (3:45) Electric guitar with brush of drums. Song of love and Satan.
** 8. (3:48) Harmonica, organ and guitar with suggestive lyrics. “Whiskeytown… How you make the girls go down.”
9. (3:05) Whiny even for Lefty. Disappointing for a song called “Sex Nurse”
10. (1:45) Acoustic guitar with vocals that sound like they were recorded in the shower.
**11. (4:12) Paranoid rant of a song over drowsy piano and mandolin with bird sounds.
*12. (3:15) Acoustic guitar with nursery-rhyme lyrics.
**13. (3:50) Electro beat and drum machine with guitar sample. Disc’s most experimental track about religion.
14. (2:45) FCC Violation audible offensive language. Vindictive vs. lovers and pols.
*15. (2:45) Folk hoedown rhythm you could dance to with happy lyrics.
***16. (3:55) Haunting lyrics and Jones most nuances vocal performance.
17. (2:17) Pretty solo acoustic guitar with perhaps tambourine taps.
18. (3:51) Softly moaned love song with picked acoustic guitar.
19. (2:36) Guitar strumming and picking and vocals.
*20. (2:51) Could have been the opening number at an Obama rally. “Give me love and give me hope/ Give us leaders with a brain.”
21. (2:58) Another acoustic guitar with vocals.
**22. (3:09) Folk ballad style makes this one sound like a traditional number.
***23. (3:06) Gospel-style sinner’s last lament with free-association feel.
24. (2:53) Vocal riffs about strange dream over jazzy upright bass.