One Foot on the Train
Steve & Jenny Moss
Excess Baggage Music
2000
14 tracks
The performances on this release set me to wondering about the respective musical influences from which this husband and wife duo have come. On the whole, this is country music with an old-time feel, but the vocals reflect a confluence of two styles which are quite distinct and yet not so far apart after all. Listening to most of the vocals of Jenny Moss, one is reminded of artists such as Jean Sheppard, Kitty Wells, or Loretta Lynn, with their hard-edged and [some might say] whiney vocals. Steve Moss seems to be more of a folk artist along the lines of Peter Sarstedt or perhaps James Taylor, imbuing the lyrics with a certain sweet quality.
While with ten performers the band here is quite large, the arrangements are restrained and tasteful, supporting rather than overcoming the vocals. I especially enjoy Keith Baumann's work on dobro and mandolin and T. C. Furlong's ornamentation on the pedal steel guitar. On a couple of tracks, Don Sternberg takes over with some excellent mandolin work. While I mention these examples, the skilled playing of all the members of this band add to the professional quality of this recording.
Although One Foot on the Train is released by a husband and wife team, and although both partners use the same band, the effect is more like those old vinyl releases with two artists (say Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline or Connie Francis and Neil Sedaka), where each artist performs separately. On this release, there are seven songs performed by Steve Moss and six performed by Jenny Moss. The two come together to perform only one song.
"After All" is a sweet, sad song that tends to feel like the interpretation of "The Impossible Dream" by George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Like the George and Tammy recording, this one stops just short of becoming maudlin. The result is a sweet if somewhat saccharine country duet.
"Liza Dear" is the song which most reminds me of Peter Sarstedt. Both the instrumental arrangement (maybe it's Robert Long's accordion that does it to me) and Steve Moss' approach to the vocals remind me of "Where do you go to (my lovely)" and other story songs by Sarstedt. The tempo has a very European feel to it, enhanced perhaps by the inclusion of accordion and strings. Moss shows more range in his vocal than he does in other songs on this release, even approaching some of Sarstedt's lovely highs. This is perhaps the best song on this release.
"It Almost Doesn't Matter" has a sweet near-bluegrass feel that's enhanced by the sparse arrangement and a lively and interesting mandolin accompaniment. Jenny Moss forsakes her Fifties country vocal style for a sweet folk treatment of this sad love song.
"Something Borrowed" is another song where the lyrics bring to mind Tammy Wynette, although the vocals resonate more of Jean Sheppard and other singers from the Fifties. Again, even though the lyrics sound big city, the instrumentation gives the song a hillbilly feel.
In general, the songs on One Foot on the Train are well done. The lyrics are well written and, with one possible exception ["The Whiskey Says" seems far too cheerful given the subject matter], the melodies and arrangements complement the words. Performances by instumentalists and vocalists are above average. Yet the whole thing feels like there's something missing. There's an emotional flatness to this release that doesn't do justice to its otherwise overall high quality. Everything feels pulled back just a bit too much: sounding too much "recorded" and not suggesting enough live contact with the meaning and feelings behind the words.
This is a debut release by Steve and Jenny Moss, so it's possible they were just trying too hard to get it right and didn't have time to have some fun while they're at it. Given the quality of their songwriting and performance, I look forward to hearing their next effort.
More information on Steve and Jenny Moss can be found at SteveandJennyMoss.com.
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