Video Premiere – Andrew Gabbard ‘Magic Taxi’
ANDREW GABBARD’s ‘Magic Taxi’ (taken from his forthcoming Karma Chief / Colemine album Ramble & Rave On!) finds him answering the question a Beatles mega-fan like himself has doubtlessly asked: “What would they have sounded like if they didn’t break up?” The answer is a bit like John singing in Wings with Ringo on drums and George decorating the song with swirls of tangy guitars
Ramble & Rave On!, Andrew’s third solo LP, sounds like the kind of weathered tattoo you’d see etched on a barfly’s forearm as he slams another drink in a dive. Like its title, the record feels like something that’s always been around; a trusty mixtape that everyone can agree on.
Andrew comes to this collection of songs with something that very much feels like a “studio” record, the kind of album a ’60s rock star feels like they’ve built the confidence to make, to shake off a rawness for something fuller and more realised. The fact that this record was yet again a homemade effort, with Andrew playing everything (apart from Sven Kahns’ pedal steel), gives you an idea of how devoted and studied he is to creating that perfect song.
Ramble & Rave On! is Andrew’s most personal album yet, it finds him journeying between his worlds as a decades-long touring & studio musician/vocalist for The Black Keys, as a songwriter with his head-in-the-stars, and as the man in his home with the people he holds dearest and with the studio where he brings it all together. It is clear that Andrew finds himself at this prolific point in his career completely beholden to songs, to their absolute power, and to their otherworldly ability to connect.
He has mastered his craft, and proves throughout the course of this album that he can truly make a pitstop stop at every genre.
Andrew Gabbard is featured in our Colemine feature in issue #157
