Have Love, Will Travel

by Cub KodaIf all Commander Cody ever aspired to was sounding like a real good Dave Dudley 45, then ex-Lost Planet Airman Bill Kirchen has achieved his dream with this album. The kickoff track, "Womb to the Tomb," would have fit in atmospherically just about anywhere on those early albums, and his rendition here of the Sharps/Rivingtons with Duane Eddy title track seems absolutely tailor-made for Kirchen's twanging roadhouse style. It's like a night in a real good honky tonk with a great little combo up there. There's a lot of great music on this 14-track outing, with the lion's share of it emanating from Kirchen and his tighter-than-Jack Benny rhythm section of Johnny Castle on bass and Jack O'Dell on drums. No big names doing meaningless guest appearances, just some friends adding some horns, some keys, and a little steel guitar. Records seldom come this simple and unaffected, but Kirchen pulls it off with style and grace.