CD Reviews for 07/26/08 – Larry Lange & The Lonely Nights

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Larry Lange & his Lonely Nights
Crazy, Crazy Baby
Texas Jamboree Records TJCS6901

To understand the music of Larry Lange & His Lonely Nights, all one need do is skip ahead to track #17 on the debut platter from the band called Crazy, Crazy Baby. It’s a cover of the Gene Thomas tune “Sometimes” done up in classic swamp pop style. More importantly, it’s the two minute intro to the song from Lange where he recalls his influences, namely the regional fare coming from the dance halls and clubs that dotted U.S. Highway 90 stretching between Lafayette, Louisiana and San Antonio and that he heard countless times on jukeboxes and radio while growing up in Victoria, Texas. We’re talking the Gulf Coast sound from the king cats of the circuit like Thomas, Eddie Bo, and the list goes on and on. It was all Lange wanted to play when he was a kid. Now well into his adult years and with a resume that includes playing bass for the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Delbert McClinton, Angela Strehli, and Doug Sahm, it‘s safe to say that Lange has paid his dues with some of the best in the business. When it comes to the Gulf Coast sound, he could not resist those early yearnings. When he formed his Lonely Nights band in 2005, the Austin-based musician’s goal was to recreate the music he was weaned on, that “Highway 90” sound. That is exactly what he does on Crazy, Crazy Baby. The 18 offerings span circa-1950s and ‘60s Crawfish Circuit classics readymade for dance time spanning the title track, “Try To Find Another Man”, “Shirley” and “No One Else Will Do” to the classic South Texas border sounds of the likes of Steve Jordan (“Falta tu Amor”) and Sunny & the Sunliners (“Carino Nuevo”). Close your eyes and soak in all that Crazy,Crazy Baby has to offer and you’ll swear it feels like some long lost swamp pop gem. About the only thing missing is a fried seafood platter and a few Dixie beers. (Texas Jamboree Records, 914 N. Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78703, or visit www.larrylange.com.)

(Dan Ferguson is a free-lance music writer and host of The Boudin Barndance, broadcast Thursday nights from 6 – 9 pm on WRIU-FM 90.3. He lives in Peace Dale and can be reached at [email protected].)