An Intriguing Cajun/Country Music Band from Brooklyn, NY
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 11/22/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
""Prominent" Brooklyn, NY-based country musicians Dock Oscar and Alex Battles have complained elsewhere in print of Nashville's "ignorance" of New York City's - or rather, Brooklyn's - emerging community of country music bands and fans. However, Brooklyn deserves such "ignorance" when it is a minor league town competing against the likes of my adopted hometown of Tucson, AZ, which has become a center of cutting-edge country music in the past two decades due in no small measure to widespread critical and popular acclaim earned by my favorite country/folk band, the Mollys, and now, especially, Calexico. Much of the music here in the Big Apple that I've heard either live or online is dreadful, but there are a couple of rare exceptions. One of these is the Doc Marshalls, an intriguing Cajun/Country music band hailing from, of all places, my favorite New York City borough. Band leader and vocalist Nick Beaudoing, a Cajun native of Texas, has done a good job producing his band's CD debut, "No Kind of Life". He's also a fine songwriter, who strikes me as more impressive than Alex Battles, in crafting good honky tonk and Cajun-flavored country tunes; however, he is not musically in the same league as great country songwriters like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Johnny Cash, Nancy McCallion of the Mollys, or Lucinda Williams. Still, this is a CD that I can recommend to fans of both Cajun and honky tonk country music because of Beaudoing's fine songwriting and his band's very good musicianship. The Doc Marshalls are a tight ensemble, playing with more gusto and splendid musicianship than Alex Battles' Whisky Rebellion. "Feel No Pain", a rollicking honky tone tune, is one of my two favorite Nick Beaudoing-composed songs on this CD. The other one is the album's real gem, a finely crafted Cajun tune, "Bon a Rien", which may remind some listeners of some of Beausoleil's elegant Cajun music. Without question, the Doc Marshalls are worth listening to, even if they hail from the country music minor league town of Brooklyn, NY."
Classic Honky Tonk with a little Cajun flavor
Oscar Stern | Brooklyn, NY United States | 12/20/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you like classic honky tonk Bakersfield style, then this is for you. Band leader Nick Beaudoing is obviously influenced by Dwight Yoakam not only in the way he sings but also in his songwriting, which is a very good thing indeed. Although this band is based in New York City, Nick stays true to his Texas roots along with rest of a fine band. Fiddles, pedal steel and sweet vocals make for fine listening. And for a treat, there a few Cajun tunes with Nick playing accordian, reminiscent of Joseph Falcon.
Some stand out tracks include: the uptempo honkytonk tunes "Woman Knows No Heartache" and "Reckless Heart", the ballad "No Kind of Life", and the Cajun tunes "N'oublie-Moi Pas" and "Bon A Rein"
Do yourself a favor and pick this up now."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1