Rod Melancon - Parish Lines (2014)

Bursting forth with a sound salvaged from the cutting room floor of a long lost session of the million dollar quartet at Sun Studios, ‘Parish Lines’ from Rod Melancon isn’t retro; it’s the real deal. Hailing from South Louisiana, as documented on the fiery honky-tonk track bearing that name, Melancon delivers vocal skills full of authenticity and back country pride. The ten strong songs cover the gamut of roots rock, country and hillbilly soul, and tell us tales of a small town America that we wish still existed beyond our nostalgia.

Kicking off with the Romeo and Juliet tribute ‘Duck festival Queen,’ set in Shreveport and told in brilliant prose over shimmering guitars and an urgent beat. The hyped up rave on ‘Marella,’packs a slow burning punch as Melancon builds up the momentum with a low baritone delivery against jagged verb soaked guitars. Testing the limits of sentimentality Melancon recounts his wasted youth and nights spent at’ The Curve Lounge,’ and a then creates a delta version of ‘Dock of the Bay’ with the six eight ballad “Dreamer.” You can smell the burning rubber of the Eddie Cochran licks from guitarist and producer Brian Whelan on the rambunctious ‘Mad Talkin’ Man,’ and straight ahead rock n roller ‘Wanna Go For A Ride.” Melancon then jumps up a few decades as he channels Springsteen for another examination of mill town dreams for “Cushing Avenue,” and chilling tale of a soldier’s return home from war on the edgy ‘Different Man.” The album closes with the autobiographical third person tone poem ‘Feathers,’ the satire a perfect mix of Cash and Dylan.

Rod Melancon turned his efforts fully to music after failing to get a break as an actor and with his sophomore album Parrish Lines we the listener get to savor the spoils of his Hollywood defeat.