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On 'Hard Working Americans,' Songs For The Ordinary Joe

Hard Working Americans.
James Martin
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Courtesy of the artist
Hard Working Americans.

Hard Working Americans is a new quintet formed by singer-songwriter Todd Snider; it includes Dave Schools from the band Widespread Panic and Duane Trucks, whose family includes members of The Allman Brothers Band. On its self-titled debut album, the band covers 11 songs by well-known songwriters, and the result coheres as a statement of both solidarity and fun.

Halfway through the album, Snider's voice leads Hard Working Americans through a loud, roughed-up version of a song written by country-folk singer Hayes Carll called "Stomp and Holler." It's one of many songs that concern the plight of an ordinary Joe — a hard-working American — who just can't seem to catch a break. This collection certainly hammers home its obsessive theme, but you can't accuse it of lacking a sense of humor or resourcefulness.

When country singer Frankie Miller sang "Blackland Farmer" in the 1950s, he sang it like a shrewd fellow tilling the soil who's never expecting to be treated fairly by the world. In Hard Working Americans' version, the song becomes a slightly more sinister, blues-tinged ballad. Duane Trucks' drums dig the furrows deep into the earthiness of the melody, while Snider's vocal makes the narrator seem a little resentful — and perhaps even a little dangerous — around the edges. Snider has just the right edge in his voice to pull off a song such as Randy Newman's "Mr. President Have Pity on the Working Man," as he conveys the composition's full resentment at having to ask for the help of a leader who's too lofty-minded to listen, let alone care.

The sound of this quintet is a canny fusion of folk, rock and the sort of languid yearning at which so-called jam-bands excel at their best. These range from The Allman Brothers Band to bassist Dave Schools' band Widespread Panic. Snider's influence keeps the music tart and springy, and he's a fine editor and musical anthologist, cherry-picking appropriate material and then working out new arrangements with the rest of the band.

Copyright 2020 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.