Oh Uncle Earl, where to begin; the less than spectacular harmonizing, the not so inspiring lyrics and yodeling or the Mandarin Chinese?
Let's start with the one area where the album, Waterloo, Tennessee, excels—the instrumentals. The music on this album has all the fun and energy one would expect from a folk/bluegrass band. There is also an Irish/Celtic feel that makes the album appealing. This winning factor may be attributed to the fact that John Paul Jones, former bass player for Led Zeppelin, produced the album. The instrumentals ""Black-eyed Susie"" and ""Sisters of the Road"" are upbeat, enjoyable tracks.
However, songs like ""Buonaparte,"" a 44-second a cappella that has all the harmonizing expertise of a sixth grade choir, don't make the cut. One may be wondering about a title like ""Buonaparte,"" and yes, it is one of two songs about Napoleon. What bluegrass fan can't relate to the sorrows of a man who fought almost every European power in the 18th century?
This leads us to the disappointing writing for the album. Lyrics like ""candy bars I shared / I got the big half,"" and lots of yodeling don't make for a good album. Maybe listeners shouldn't be looking for deep thinking in bluegrass songs, but even granting that the songs are supposed to be fun, the lyrics are not creative and are fairly boring.
This can be accepted in some of the more traditional songs like ""Wallflower,"" which is supposed to be an old western saloon song. But in ""Bony on The Isle of St. Helena"" the listener expects something new, especially since one would think Uncle Earl would have to be fairly creative to write a song about Napoleon. However, lyrics like ""Buonaparte is away from his wars and his fighting / he has gone to a place he can take no delight in"" aren't real winners.
Maybe Uncle Earl decided to throw in another language to get their creative juices flowing. ""Streak O' Lean, Streak O' Fat"" was by far the most creative song on Waterloo, Tennessee. Surely the Mandarin Chinese speaking bluegrass fans are an untapped market, but having one song in the middle of the album probably isn't the best way to access this audience segment. However, if they ever make a music video, it could compete with the ""Numa Numa Dance"" video by Gary Brolsma.
Waterloo, Tennessee is a laughable effort that most bluegrass fans will find boring, except the last four or five tracks. None of the songs stand out, unless one decides to take Chinese next semester.
