Memphis Loud is aptly named. The production and mix for the latest album by Victor Wainwright are dynamic and—yes—loud and upfront. Memphis, that crossroads city and mecca from American music history, stands for the scope of Wainwright’s ambition. A multiple award-winning keyboardist and vocalist, Wainwright occasionally conjures ghosts of The Band, especially on the funky syncopated “Walk the Walk.”
“Sing” draws from Dixieland jazz while “Disappear” is almost Allman Brothers in its majestic transmutation of blues into rock. The rumble-rhythmed title tune plugs into an old tradition in American music, the railroad song. Memphis Loud is performed in precise arrangements by a large ensemble of musicians including a full horn section.
