Danny Barnes Albums (6)
What The Critics Say
Banjo-pickin' prodigy Danny Barnes has crafted another fine album in Get Myself Together -- one that explores the human condition as it crafts an inventive song cycle. Look no further than "Get Me Out of Jail" for a sadly amusing tale of a day in the life an alcoholic and prescription drug addict, or the superb, whiskey bar-addled depiction of love gone wrong in "Big Girl Blues." Barnes' lyrics are as wry as ever, as evidenced by "Wasted Mind," which observes, "Smell like turpentine/You'll be doin' time," (just one in a number of accurate albeit unflattering descriptions of life in America). They guy still has a knack for covers, be it the expressive, blues-picked tribute to friend and sometime collaborator Bill Frisell ("Big Shoe") or a dazzling acoustic ballad homage to Willie Johnson. While the idea behind a bluegrass bastardization of the Rolling Stones' classic "Sympathy for the Devil" seems misguided, Barnes not only pulls it off but triumphs in the process. Toss in a fiddle-and-banjo duel "Rat's Ass" and you've got a bona fide down-home classic, not to mention a frontrunner for the Americana album of 2005. ~ John D. Luerssen, All Music Guide
'Livin' Large... In a Little Bitty Room'
Release Date 1/1/2004
Tracks 11
Label Terminus
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What The Critics Say
On Dirt on the Angel, his fourth outing, multi-instrumentalist Danny Barnes, formerly of the Austin, TX-based Bad Livers, soldiers on mining the tradition for new songs while displaying an eclecticism that's nothing less than endearing and simultaneously visionary. With the help of a band that includes Bill Frisell, Chuck Leavell, and Darol Anger (Barnes was/is a part of Frisell's group the Willies), Barnes' own songs, such as "Life in the Country" and "Get It While You Can," the two opening tracks in sequence, display Barnes' high lonesome gutbucket funky bluegrass. With a voice that resembles Leon Russell and a banjo delivery that is closer to Roscoe Holcomb and Dock Boggs than Earl Scruggs, Barnes keeps it close to the heart of the heart of the country. On a cut such as the title track, Frisell's lyrical gift and Leavell's gorgeous wide-open chord voicings color a lament that is both haunting and bittersweet and sounds as if it could have been produced by Daniel Lanois. The wide-open country-rock of "Water Wagon," a paean to sobriety, gives a nod to the Band's pastoral Arcadian blues and features a stunning fiddle solo by Anger. The cover of the traditional "Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy," made infamous by Uncle Dave Macon in the 1930s, is rendered here as nasty and lonesome as is possible in a new millennium. But the most telling moment is a cover of "Ooh La La" by the late Ronnie Lane and Ronnie Wood of the Faces. Lane taught the song to Barnes, and here it is tenderly yet not overly reverently rendered, full of humor and warmth, offering a portrait of Lane as the musician he truly was -- somebody as close to the country as he was to the roots of rock (and perhaps why he and Ian McLagan relocated to Austin). Gritty swing makes an appearance in "I Likes My Chicken Hot," and a woolly cover of Beck Hansen's "Loser" closes the 14-song set with a sampladelic pasting of Macon's reading of "Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy" to anchor the weight of the tune and make it a hillbilly blues song with sound effects. Dirt on the Angel is easily the most focused -- and fun --outing of Barnes' solo career thus far. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Things I Done Wrong'
Release Date 6/19/2001
Tracks 12
Label Terminus
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What The Critics Say
As founding member of Austin's notorious Bad Livers, banjoist/guitarist and singer/songwriter Danny Barnes staked his claim as a traditionalist who didn't mind breaking the rules by irreverently mixing punk, rock, rockabilly, and even touches of techno into the bluegrass formula. After the band's breakup in 1999, Barnes moved to Seattle and aligned himself with a fresh bunch of musicians for his first official solo project. While not quite a return to his roots since he really never abandoned them, Things I Done Wrong is a predominantly percussion-free set of banjo-based original tunes, spearheaded by Barnes' nasal Levon Helm-styled voice and offbeat lyrical sensibility. Assisted by Fiona Apple's bassist Keith Lowe and Goose Creek Symphony violinist Jon Parry, the trio runs through a diverse dozen songs -- running the gamut from the "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" rave-up of "Devil on the Mountain" to a snazzy yet reverent cover of T. Rex' "Broken Hearted Blues" -- with jaunty authority. The initial reaction that this is a fairly typical bluegrass/folk album becomes altered by repeated listenings that reveal unusual lyrics ("I'm coming over if you get my meaning") and instrumentation. An album that should appeal to bluegrass traditionalists who will warm to the Jimmy Martin cover of "There's Better Times A-Coming," as well as those looking for a slightly skewed, yet decidedly rootsy approach to the genre, Barnes has crafted a low-key, yet not minimalist work. Production by New York City jazzman Wayne Horvitz and a full string section on two tracks add depth as well as an eclectic feel to a promising debut by one of bluegrass music's least conventional artists. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Originally released in a signed and numbered limited edition of 100 CD-R copies burned on Danny Barnes' home PC, this collection of lo-fi home recordings finds the banjo and guitar-picking Bad Liver playing a little bit of everything -- from rickety old-time country and blues to foot-stomping garage rock. "Cellophane Thing" could even be mistaken for a feathered-and-blow-dried, lighters-hoisted-high 1970s power ballad. Not as consciously eclectic or experimental as some of his work with the Livers, Minor Dings is held together, albeit loosely, by Barnes' undeniable talent and the major fun he apparently had kicking out some ambling jams in his spare time. A welcomed addition to the collections of diehard Bad Livers fans, for sure. ~ Brian Beatty, All Music Guide
