Miller Sings About Motel, More On Album

Clint Miller, “Ballad of a Modern Day Cowboy: A Tragedy in Three Acts” (CWM)

In the troubled south seen by singer Clint Miller, souls sift through ramshackle romances amid a landscape littered by liquor, marital mishaps and the suicidal tendencies of bleary-eyed road warriors.
The guitar-slinging Miller, an Abingdon High School graduate, opens a window into what is often a dirty world of hell-minded hitchhikers – and even the devil – with his recent album “Ballad of a Modern Day Cowboy: A Tragedy In Three Acts.”
A continuous storyline connects these mostly acoustic compositions, fueled by Miller’s mandolin, dobro and slide guitar.
Eight songs on this set have “ballad” in the title.
The lead track, “Ballad of the Robert E. Lee Motel,” takes place at a beloved but befallen real-life landmark – a motel standing about halfway between Bristol and Abingdon on U.S. Highway 11. This lodge, built in the 1940s, has, in recent years, been seemingly left to ruin.
In song, that also appears to be the fate of Miller’s character.
Here, the singer survives an encounter that’s every bit as scary as the current conditions of the vacant motel, where lights and doors are busted and brush grows like a wild jungle in the parking lot.
Still, Miller stands tall in song, just as he does in a picture on the album cover, as he defeats a cheating gambler’s gun.
From there, Miller’s adventures continue down the “Blountville Highway” and through the challenge of “Goin’ Clean.”
His coarse vocals – rough, but ready – provide a suitable and sometimes perfect vehicle to propel these 21 tales of woe on the road.

Scott Perry, “Hero Worship” (SP)

Scott Perry’s majestic, reso-phonic guitar gives the glue to “Hero Worship,” the musician’s commanding salute to often under-appreciated music legends.
A self-produced album, “Hero Worship” offers 16 respectful renditions of blues standards, including Willie Dixon’s “Back Door Man” and Skip James’s “Hard Time Killing Floor.”
These are the kinds of songs that once inspired the big names of blues-rock, like Led Zeppelin and the Jeff Beck Group.
Obviously, too, it has inspired Perry, a Floyd, Va., guitar shop owner who once vowed to “put the blues back in bluegrass.”
Here, Perry hops through a hefty heap of material that dates back decades. And not only does Perry sound inspiring, he also makes a poignant point in his liner notes: “You can help me to further honor the folks whose material is covered in this project by seeking out and purchasing their recordings.”