Gustavo Antonio “Tav” Falco is one of the true artistic treasures of the last 50 years, this distinction achieved through a personal style that’s flamboyant but never off-putting and an unusually high level of sensitivity toward the assorted genres that inform his approach. His latest album Desire on Ice, which is available now on vinyl, compact disc, and digital from ORG Music, rounds up a bevy of guests on a varied yet cohesive set of original material. That Falco can put together an album this strong after so long a stretch of activity is cause for celebration.
Emerging in the late 1970s, Tav Falco has delivered scores of listeners a crucial understanding of the beautifully twisted enormity of Memphis’ roots music. With either Panther Burns as his backing band or solo, Falco’s sheer range, encompassing rockabilly, blues, soul, C&W, pop and so much more, remains a major aspect in his appeal.
Another key component in Falco’s success relates to his deftness as an interpreter of a wide swath of material, but for Desire on Ice, the focus is completely on the man’s original compositions. Throughout the set, the combined skills of the contributors receives a deserved studio polish that reinforces the scale of the project.
Falco and his regular producer and veteran member of Panther Burns Mario Monterosso waste no time getting into the thick of it, as Desire on Ice’s opening prologue features a deeply purred spoken word passage by Kid Congo Powers and some brash Duane Eddy gone Vegas guitar flair by Rev. Horton Heat. “Gentleman in Black” follows, Falco beginning with a spoken intro of his own prior to kicking into song as guitarist Jimmy Rip joins the band.
For “Cuban Rebel Girl” (almost certainly inspired by the fascinatingly strange Cuban-made pro-Castro propaganda movie from 1959 that stands as the final entry in Errol Flynn’s filmography) the guests are UK session ace Chris Spedding and Chicago via Memphis mouth harp specialist Charles Musselwhite, who gives the track a potent boost of the blues.
From there, Jon Spencer swoops in on guitar and vocal for “Sympathy for Mata Hari,” while the following cut “Vampire from Havana” dishes a duet by Falco and Ann Magnuson as Bubba Feathers (son of rockabilly great Charlie Feathers) bends the strings in a manner that’s particularly evocative of Memphis. Next is one of the album’s standouts, the ferociously political “Doomsday Baby” with Primal Screamer Bobby Gillespie lending vocals and former Panther Burns member Jim Sclavunos playing drums.
The ’60s pop flavored “Crying for More” has vocals by Nicole Atkins (a very appropriate choice) and guitar by Bongo Richard Barone. For the decidedly ’60s-ish pop-rock of “The Ballad of Rue de la Lune,” the guests are Pete Molinari and Boz Boorer, both UK residents with a connection to blues and rockabilly. For “Garden of the Medicis” Falco enlists Frenchman Bertrand Burgulat on piano and after that, for the noirish “Lady from Shanghai” lines up Rene Coman, another Panther Burns vet, on bass, and Memphis resident Alex Greene, on piano.
For Desire on Ice’s penultimate track, “Chamber of Desire,” Falco is joined on vocals by Jolie Holland, who turns in a superb performance, as does Nicole Atkins one more time in the album’s brief epilogue, as one more rockabilly mainstay, namely Eddie Angel, adds guitar.
Soaking up all these guest contributions to Desire on Ice is a sheer pleasure, but more importantly, the set flows as a robust album experience sans hitch and with no knowledge of the stacked lineup required. The success comes down to quality songwriting and to the well-judged approach to production.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
