Where does influence end and imitation begin? That dilemma kept subtly rearing its head as I wove my way through the new disc "Washington" from Twin Cities singer-songwriter John Wills.
There are elements of several regal towers of songwriting ability within this project, including Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and even Spider John Koerner. But it's the late '60s Dylanesque writing style (i.e. ""John Wesley Harding"), the mid-'60s Dylanesque melodic development (i.e. "Highway 61 Revisited") and the mid-'80s Dylanesque vocal style (i.e. "Infidels") that loom large in the Wills legend. Some might say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery; artists who are being imitated might disagree.
Having left the Twin Cities while following his girlfriend to Washington, D.C., then losing her to the people of Nairobi (she went there to help resettle refugees, she wasn't kidnapped), Wills pours out his pain in song throughout this disc. The reason is seemingly to get her back and exorcise his own demons at the same time.
He was living in D.C., taking the four-hour Chinatown bus from the nation's capitol up to New York City, while doing the recording with noted producer Godfrey Diamond (Lou Reed, Aerosmith, Kool & The Gang, Billy Squier). Diamond's reach included recruiting several members of the New York-based quintet Ollabelle to help. Vocalist Fiona McBain, drummer Tony Leone and bassist Byron Isaacs all add touch and taste to the project.
There's a sarcastic tone to "A Man Like That" that brings to mind Dylan's "Positively 4th Street" demeanor, as Wills looks askance at his lover leaving and repeatedly snarls "... how could you be with a man like that?"
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Pianist Rob Clores adds a Tom Waits element as he lays down an upright piano backdrop that fits the sardonic lyric to a tee.
"Settle Down" starts with the line "I was electrified this morning, dreamt I was talkin' to your old man. He said John ... what is it that you plan." Wills' dream about his girlfriend's father and questions regarding his intentions comes complete with rockabilly beat, hand claps and razor sharp guitar that can't help but remind one of "Tombstone Blues."
The goodbye song "Adios (on the streets of Washington)" is his restless farewell to his beloved "... on the streets of Washington is where I fell into the arms of the lovely Ann, down to the bottom of the well. So goodbye my true love, I'll see you on the road, I'll see you down the line." The sound is a cross between "Hollis Brown" and "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine," and the plaintive acoustic guitar feel draws us into the drama of one person unhitching themselves from another and its emotional impact.
"Rift and the Lorry" is about Nairobi and a new life without him. "... maybe it's a lesson that I've learned ... what I've been searchin' for. Every second the leaves are turnin' and I can finally see that I've been here before." This distinctly brings to mind the style of Dylan's Traveling Wilbury's period with George Harrison, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison and makes us feel like we've been here before as well. It's has a sprightly feel that belies the darker message. In this tune, like much of the disc, the text is compact and paints scenes concisely with no sense of being loquacious.
Wills brings us into his world of hurt and loss with a certain amount of conviction and with some independent visual imagery. But it's hard to put aside the overwhelming influences that mark his vocal and musical delivery and make us feel like this isn't as original as we'd like it to be.
John Ziegler has worked as program and music director at KUMD-FM for 31 years. He has produced seven compilation discs from some of his 3,500 in-studio sessions. He reviews music for the News Tribune. Reach him at johndziegler@gmail.com .
