Canadian country rock with a strong soulful twist.
Steel Saddle is a six-piece Canadian band from Montreal. On their debut album, their relatively orthodox country rock instrumentation of guitars (electric, acoustic, pedal steel), organ/piano, bass and drums is augmented by a 3 piece horn section (tenor and baritone sax and trumpet). Vocals are handled by 4 of the band with an additional female backing vocal credited on several tracks. The main writers credited on the ten original songs are; Austin Boylan (lead vocals and acoustic guitar) and Mackenzie Sawyer (electric bass).
The album opens briskly with ‘Free in the Morning’, a lively danceable number with the horn section very much to the fore. The overall feeling is predominantly country, although the horns blend nicely, and don’t sound as though they have been added separately. This sets the tone for most of the album. The second track ‘Under Your Arms’ is at a slower tempo and drops the horns but it’s equally fine with strong slide and electric guitar parts. The theme here seems to be about the choices that need to be made on the road but on the next track, ‘Travelin’ Light’ it’s the road that wins out, “You can’t catch a man with a gun in his hand.” This is another catchy number that would be well-received in a honky-tonk setting. ‘Fix on the Tail Wind ‘again has a strong use of horns with just a hint of The Band-like harmonies and is very fine country soul indeed. ‘Angelina’ continues in this vain with the female accompanying vocal mixed a bit more to the fore with excellent effect.
‘Big Yellow Dog’ is a bit of rather slight traditional R n B with even a lapse into whistling, seldom a good idea, but things pick up again with ‘Can’t Be Satisfied‘ which is again vaguely reminiscent of their more illustrious Canadian predecessors The Band. It has engaging harmonies and a strong sax solo, and wouldn’t sound out of place on one of their later albums. ‘Donny the Satanist’, on the other hand, is back to straight old fashioned R & B and could have fitted nicely on one of Levon Helm’s solo albums. Piano is the dominant solo here with the horn section dropping out for this and the last two tracks. Unfortunately, this ends the album with something of a drop in impact with both the title track and the closer ‘It’s My Time’ outstaying their welcome somewhat.
Overall this is a strong debut. The horns are an integral part of its success and it’s to be hoped further efforts continue in the country-soul direction. A bigger role for a female singer wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
