Every city has one or two: local bands that are the go-to choice for a weekend party. Bob Marston got an appreciation for being that band when he was asked to re-open one of Birmingham’s clubs after the Covid shutdown. With time for introspection again a few months later when he went through his own bout against the ‘rona, he realized he needed to recommit to his music. Part of that was to record and release his first full-length album, So Long.
Pulling from the guitars-and-horns style associated with nearby Muscle Shoals, Marston enlisted part of the horn section from St. Paul & the Broken Bones to create a soul-laced rock and roll sound. Lyin’ Eyes is just that, with fat trumpet, trombone, and sax weaving the accusatory story of a flirtatious girl who’s “having fun just playing the field with those lyin’ eyes.” Sundays uses the brass again, this time with clarinet, to muse on all the different ways we choose to celebrate the last day of the weekend. Pick Up Your Guitar leans a little more to the swing sound in a tale of the ups and downs of success.
Marston, who along with brother George Hipp handles guitars and most vocals, has a keen observational style about his community that inspires several songs on the record. For my money, Real Magic, Good People is the best of those. It’s a reggae-tinged number about Birmingham, and how the community’s good deeds still have to account for lesser acts. So Long has a little Jackson Browne feel as it admonishes us that getting along requires some actual work. Far And Wide is a driving country rock number about life on the road as a musician, but also relates to the societal wrongs you see along the way.
Over the years Marston has mostly made his living as a singer-songwriter act. Coming out of the pandemic he started leveraging a band more and re-examining his sound. It’s hard to pin that sound down, with some blues, some soul, some rock, and a little country. But the Credible Sources are up to the challenge of combining those styles and So Long comes together as an immensely enjoyable record.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.