Review: BoDeans, “Still”
In the 25-year history of Wisconsin roots-rock outfit the BoDeans, the name of producer extraordinaire T-Bone Burnett pops up intermittently. Burnett produced the duo’s 1986 debut album, he was on board when “Closer To Free” hit the Top 10, and now Burnett is back at the helm for the BoDeans’ newest, Still. Roots rock of the sort crafted so effortlessly by Kurt Neumann and Sammy Llanas likely belongs to a long-gone day and age, but a few repeat listenings of Still may make the tunes sound fresher than they really are. Nonetheless, the opener “Pretty Ghost” is appropriately spooky, while “Lucille” has an irresistible garage-rock thump. While the rest of the songs seem to spin off into the land of been-there-done-that, the boys’ blended voices still sound great. Any producer — no matter how big the name or how deep his bag of studio tricks may be — can manufacture that kind of magic. A quarter of a century down the line, the BoDeans still have at least that goin’ for them … and that’s plenty. You should catch them live if you can.
30 Days Out 
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