Peter Frampton Did Not Invent The Talk Box

Wichita Lineman- The Heartaches MP3

Plastic Saddle- The Heartaches MP3

2/24/11

beeradvocate.com- A-

Captain Lawrence Nor'Easter Winter Warmer (Strong Ale)-Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 25.6 oz. bomber into 12OZ. Brandy Snifter- 12% ABV- Poured very dark brown with some hints of ruby when held up to the light. About a fingers worth of dense, dark tan head. Little to no lacing and the head receded at a medium pace. Off the bat this ale had a strong alcohol aroma. You could say overpowering but that is not to say its bad. This is advertised as a winter warmer so I was actually hoping it would be on the "boozy" side. After it warmed up a bit I did detect some dark "berry" like qualities which could be attributed to the elderberries used in the brewing process and maybe some woodieness as well. This is not a beer for the faint of heart. This is a kick back and take it easy kind of beer with a couple of good records and not much else to do. Definitely alot of bourbon qualities found here and I like it. This beer was an expensive and I kind of had buyers remorse after purchasing it. I have wanted to try a bourbon barrel aged beer for awhile and this is the first one I came across and it ended up being more expensive than I anticipated. I probably would not get this beer again but I am glad I tried it and it fit the bill for a "winter warmer".

On the turntable is Wichita Lineman- The Heartaches- Recorded for RCA in Nashville, TN in 1969. The Heartaches were Dottie West’s backing band from the mid sixties. I bought this LP a few years ago at the WFMU Record Fair with no knowledge of who they were but it looked promising.I really love the cover of this LP. Some Nashville cats from the sixties. I was just sort of getting into country music particularly instrumental country music when I bought this LP. I was also at the time and still am a big fan of the song “Wichita Lineman”. So this looked like a safe bet even though I Knew nothing of the band. One of the great things about this record is the inclusion of a Vibraphone on a number of tracks. Certainly an unusual instrument for a country record but it really adds some depth to these recordings and makes it stand out from the other country instrumental records I have from this time period. A rich, moody quality is apparent in their vocal less version of Wichita Lineman. Another stand out track is their version of Plastic Saddles with a Talk-Box applied to the pedal steel guitar, a not uncommon effect employed by steel guitarists in the early-mid sixties, long before it was popularized by Peter Frampton.