Ryan Bingham knows a thing or two about
pain. He learned the emotional aspect early in life, when
shuttling between small towns and family members in the
hardscrabble ranching communities of West Texas and New
Mexico -- and became well-acquainted with the physical
facets during his years on the Southwestern rodeo circuit.
That ache is palpable in the grooves of Mescalito, Bingham’s
Lost Highway debut, but what’s even more plain is
the steely strength needed to overcome it -- a tenor that’s
evident in both the singer-songwriter’s preternaturally
wizened voice and his remarkably poignant songs, which
resonate with roadhouse wisdom and rough-and-ready border-town
piquancy.
“I first started playing music when I was about 17
years old and living down on the border of Mexico,” he
recalls. “My mom had bought me a guitar when I was
a kid and I never did play it very much, but I always had
it hanging around. There was this guy who lived next door
and played mariachi music. I was fascinated, and mostly
I’d go over and drink whiskey with him and watch,
but then he taught me some chords and he hooked me. I haven’t
put it down since.”
That’s evident throughout Mescalito, from the Rolling
Stones-flavored blues strutting of “Take It Easy
Mama” to the deceptively gentle finger-picking that
runs through the wistful “Don’t You Wait For
Me.” Aided by the sympathetic production of Marc
Ford -- perhaps best-known for unspooling the sturdy rhythm
guitar lines that powered the Black Crowes on their classic ‘90s
albums -- Bingham manages to kick both the heart and the
hips into high gear.
