Combining Americana, Rockabilly and Swing, genre defying Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra are back with their unique sonic sound of Western Swing on their sixth long player, 'Feet First'.
The Teapad Orchestra sound has been fleshed out by the addition of Ben Powling on saxophone, who’s playing adds an additional layer on top of the beautifully arranged sound of the band. And, Rob Heron’s writing is without doubt some of his best on ‘Feet First’. All the songs, except for ‘Happy Hour’, composed by Bluegrass musician Arnold Lester, have been written by Heron displaying his usual wit and humour mixed with real life scenarios.
As the listener would expect from Heron and The Teapad Orchestra, the musical style ranges from Americana on songs such as ‘More Fool You Babe’ and ‘Three Button Suit’, to the call and response chorus of the big band sound of the late Cab Calloway or Louis Jordan on ‘I Blinked and it Was Over’.
The sweet melancholic lyrics underpinning the jaunty sound of title track, ‘Feet First’, could sit easily on any album by Hank Williams. The band leap into full rockabilly mode on ‘Every Day is Misery’ allowing for interesting interplay between guitar and saxophone.
The real genius of what Rob Heron and The Teapad Orchestra do on ‘Feet First’ is to deliver world class music on a level that is deceptively simple and accessible. Yet, is highly skilled and well written, arranged and packaged in a bundle of joy.
Recorded in just two days at the appropriately named Lightning Recorders in Berlin, ‘Feet First’ is an exuberant and joyous experience from start to finish.