Review: Big Don Band – Bad Luck

Big Don Band
Bad Luck
Independent Release

In the liner notes of Bad Luck, Big Don Band states that the album is “brought to you by the letter ‘F’ and the number ‘69.’” From the opening track, it’s clear that this blues-rock Athens group is the real deal: genuine good ol’ boys singing about blue-collar topics that include farmers who brew moonshine to feed their families, EBT stamps, ghost stories and falling in love with a deep-fat fryer in a Sears catalog while sitting on the toilet. Clearly, this Athens group isn’t worried about impressing your mom—or anyone, for that matter.

However, therein lies the problem. There are numerous tracks that simply sound like bad takes. In the intro for “God’s Country,” before the drums awkwardly stumble in, vocalist Donald Spurlin attempts to embellish the melody but never lands on definite notes. The result sounds like a Scott Stapp karaoke attempt that ends up an off-key muddled mess. In “Somewhere Over You,” Spurlin just talks through the end of a melody phrase, as if he doesn’t even care enough to follow through. Unfortunately, sloppy moments like these permeate the album, and when coupled with consistently trivial subject matter, it’s hard to take Bad Luck seriously. Maybe that’s how they want it, anyway.

John Granofsky

First published in Flagpole 1 Dec. 2010: 16. pdf