Artist:     Ted Russell Kamp

Album:     The Low and Lonesome Sound

Label:     Pomo

Release Date:     06/09/2015

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I know Ted Russell Kamp as a mesmerizing bassist in outlaw country bands like Shooter Jennings, Tony Joe White and Wanda Jackson, where he contributes heart-stopping rhythms and serious rock n roll stage moves, so when we played this new album in the office, I got confused. Where’s the band?

Low and Lonesome isn’t just a title, it’s a true statement about the CD. TRK plays the lead on electric bass and sings solo on every track– that’s it. Only three tracks have additives: “pizza box brushes” and TRK’s own trumpet on two somewhat jazzy pieces and a fiddle on the only cover on the album, Townes Van Zandt’s “Tecumseh Valley.” Delete the lowest stringed instrument we got, and we’re talking solo a cappella here, folks; it doesn’t get more lonesome than that.

Love songs one and all, the lead track, “Rainy Day Valentine,” and “Whole Lot of You and Me” came in as personal favorites for me, but this is a solid album by anyone’s standards. The songs are well-crafted and the simple single vocal and lead bass lends them an interesting gravitas. Caveat emptor, however: Don’t listen as background to Monday Night Football. Put it on when cuddling with your honey, or in the privacy of your own car. This one deserves your attention.

– Suzanne Cadgène