Ron Franklin is apparently well known for his untraditional take on the blues. To be honest, until about 45 minutes ago, I had never heard of the guy, but after listening to his new project Gasoline Silver I'm glad his latest album came across my desk. Their self-titled album is the best Jesus and Mary Chain meets Bob Dylan in a drunken stupor you are ever likely to hear. This is an album that's rooted in the blues but is far more rock and roll then rock and roll itself and is so fittingly perfect for dark dank bars, long road-trips at night, and fights in alleys that it is almost too dangerous to listen to.
Gasoline Silver features a power trio that sounds as if they've spent most of their lives surrounded by hard times playing nothing but guitars and harmonicas to make ends meet. This is the sound of busking if it were polished and given direction and it's fantastic. Gasoline Silver might be centered around a modern take on the blues, but this is nothing like a blues record. This is not the same riff repeated over and over, but rather a jumpy stumble through danceable beats, rhythms, and hooks. Gasoline Silver is nothing overly complicated but it's simplicity hits you and hits you hard. About the hardest thing to figure out on this album is whether or not the band is actually using a drummer or a drum machine.
Gasoline have written a pretty straight forward record here that occasionally dips into some slower folky territory but quickly resumes it's take on rock and roll. From the fantastic punky rockabilly-ish "Indianapolis," to the lazy summer harmonica of "To Electricity," Gasoline Silver is a great little record. Ron Franklin might be known or might not be, but after listening to Gasoline Silver he should be. If all blues records were like this, I would be living somewhere on the Mississippi River.
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