Viva Lone Justice

「私たちはマール・ハガード、ジョージ・ジョーンズらハードコアなカントリーシンガーを愛していたのと同時にヴェルヴェット・アンダーグラウンドやMC5、パンクロックにも強く影響を受けていたの」マリア・マッキー

女性ヴォーカリストMARIA MCKEEのハスキーヴォイスとカントリー・ミュージック・ミーツ・パンクロックなオルタナティヴ・カントリーの先駆的存在として短命ながらも強烈なインパクトを残したLONE JUSTICEが約40年ぶりとなるアルバム『VIVA LONE JUSTICE』をリリース。

オリジナル・メンバーであるMARIA MCKEE、RYAN HEDGECOCK、MARVIN ETZIONI、そして故DON HEFFINGTONをフィーチャーし、スペシャル・ゲストとしてストリングス・アレンジャーTAMMY ROGERS、マルチ・ホーンプレイヤー DAVID RALICKE、スティール・ギターGREG LEISZAND、ピアニストBENMONT TENCHを招聘。MARIA MCKEEのヴォーカル、ストリングス & マンドリンも存在感溢れる"YOU POSSESS ME"、1983年当時の定番曲をアコースティック・サウンドで生まれ変わらせた"RATTLESNAKE MAMA"、そして極めつけはTHE UNDERTONES大名曲"TEENAGE KICKS"カヴァーとブランクを感じさせない渾身の仕上がり!

Lone Justice were a great band who unfortunately were also a great cautionary tale about how musicians can get chewed up and spit out by the music industry. Lone Justice offered a fresh and vital take on California country fused with rock & roll, and in the early 80s they became one of the biggest draws on the L.A. club circuit. Then they landed a major-label deal and acquired a producer and manager who didnt get what they were doing, and saw vocalist Maria McKee as a solo star in waiting rather than a member of a great team along with guitarist Ryan Hedgecock, bassist Marvin Etzioni, and drummer Don Heffington. 1985s Lone Justice has many great moments, but the overcooked production and parade of guest stars worked against the bands sound and spirit, and by the time 1986s Shelter was released, only McKee and Hedgecock were left, and a year later, they were done. One of the sad consequences was that folks who didnt get to see one of their fabled L.A. club shows never got to hear the group in their purest and most potent form. Thankfully, Omnivore Records issued two discs of the bands pre-Geffen demos (2014s This Is Lone Justice: The Vaught Tapes, 1983 and 2019s The Western Tapes, 1983) and a soundboard tape of a live gig (2019s Live at the Palomino 1983) that documented how the band sounded when they were making music on their own terms. 2024s Viva Lone Justice was also drawn from demos McKee recorded with her old Lone Justice partners Hedgecock, Etzioni, and Heffington while she was in pre-production on her 1993 solo set You Gotta Sin to Get Saved, with discreet overdubs added in the 2020s to fill out some of the tracks. Most of the time, though, this is just the sound of four friends playing songs they love, with a natural sense of give-and-take between the musicians and a feel thats casual but never lazy. The best stuff on Viva Lone Justice captures the sound of a band, not a handful of hotshot musicians high on flash, and the energy of "Rattlesnake Mama," "Skull and Crossbones," and "Alabama Baby" is palpable and infectious. These sessions also catch McKee singing with unforced excellence, and "You Possess Me" and "I Will Always Love You" are hauntingly beautiful testimonials to her gorgeous voice and faultless instincts. If anyone wonders why theyre covering the Undertones "Teenage Kicks" or the MC5s "Sister Anne," well, theyre great songs and these folks are clearly having a blast playing them, so why shouldnt they? Viva Lone Justice is the sound of Lone Justice being themselves, with no filters forced upon them, and the delight they take in following their muse is a wonderful thing to hear. This is the album Lone Justice should have been allowed to make in 1983, and in 2024 it remains music full of heart, soul, and passion. It was worth the wait. ~ Mark Deming