By the sound of
Hard Heart Singin'
,
Douglas Fir
must have been a smoking little
blues-rock
combo. They may have existed purely as a
bar band
, but the Pacific Northwest dives where they honed their sound must have been some pretty trippy little establishments, as evidenced by the brooding, ominous, mildly
psychedelic
(depending on your definition of the genre) nature of their
rock & roll
. Everything about the music is coated in a dense, smothering atmosphere (in a good way), as if it is all emanating from a small box rather than the band at the front of the room. The recording displays the same ponderous, cloistered, roadhouse
blues
edge of
the Doors
, and they share some of
the Band
's interest in old-time ambience, evident in the wonderful, rolling
Ray Charles
piano of
"Smokey Joe's,"
and the perfectly placed
soul
horn charts of
"Moratorium Waltz."
Richie Moore
's guitar work entirely avoids showy ostentation like
Robbie Robertson
and occasionally matches the sustained tone of
Randy California
(although it is not generally as distinctive as either guitarist's talent). The songwriting -- nine originals plus a lulling
Moody Blues
-like cover of
Donovan
's
"Jersey Thursday"
-- is solid throughout. The
ballads
, which make up an uncommon majority of the album, veer into soft
psych
territory to a greater degree than the more propulsive songs. They are all very much above average -- particularly for an unknown band -- and often have a transfixing power, especially the engrossing title track and
"Tom's Song."
The rockers are more realistically situated somewhere between revved-up
hard rock
and progressive
, all played with rollicking
energy and featuring exceptional playing from the trio and the fabulous pipes of drummer
Doug Snider
. His phrasing is so grounded in the
aesthetic that the music fairly buzzes with wrenching emotion. His drumming, too, is wondrous, and his dexterous timekeeping spikes the music with a mystical, jazzy vibe on songs such as
"I Didn't Try"
and
"21 Years,"
while
Tim Doyle
's Hammond B3 work is never less than sensational. It may be cliche to make such a statement in regard to a little-known band from the era, but
truly deserved a better shake from the music industry.
is plenty resonant to stand next to the B list, if not the top-level
albums of the era. ~ Stanton Swihart