Search - Chip Taylor, Carrie Rodriguez :: Trouble With Humans

Like the relationship between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in Sofia Coppola?s film, Lost In Translation, the intergenerational bonding of Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez works in a way that eludes easy analysis. The elder former hit song writer ("Wild Thing," "Angel Of The Morning")/professional gambler and the younger singer/fiddler harmonize telepathically, while their vocal timbres compliment each other, matching his Billy Joe Shaver gruffness with her Lucinda Williams attitudinal twang. The Trouble With Humans builds on the back-porch feeling of their debut record with improved sonics that increases the intimacy to a point where the tunes feel almost accidentally overheard. While it would be wrong to call it a concept record, there is a strong theme running throughout. Lines like "don?t say words I understand" ("Don?t Speak In English"), "don?t say a word" ("Memphis, Texas"), and "some words should hit the air like silence" ("Curves And Things") speak of the failure of language, ironically on a CD rife with well-crafted lyrics. But truly, for Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez, it is their unique musical kinship that speaks greater volumes. --Michael Ross