Album Reviews
Local Customs: Downriver Revival
If a town had a voice and an imagination, what would it sound like? In the industrial town of Ecorse, Michigan, a man named Felton Williams found out. From 1967 to 1981, Williams’ basement was nearly the Capitol Records of this struggling Michigan town. He recorded virtually everyone there, from aspiring soul stars and gospel crooners, to rockers and pedal steel guitar tutorials. Behind the mics in William’s basement, anyone could be a star, if not just for a moment. Locked away for nearly 40 years, the Numero Group has caught hold of these never before heard recordings on Downriver Revival, an extremely evocative listen to Williams’ collection of local talents. Williams’ recordings showcase the double lives that hid in the troubled town of Ecorse; where a church secretary could wail out the blues at night, or a mechanic’s hands could crawl across the keys of a Hammond B-3 organ.
The Young Generation’s “Running Mod,” brings the best of mod-era protopunk to this small Michigan town. Bobby Cook & the Explosions pour out smooth funk. Shirley Ann Lee emerges as the star, on her home-produced radio show, which showcases her soulful, and slightly pained, gospel serenade. Accompanying the album is a documentary DVD that walks the streets of Ecorse and an interactive digital tape archive that opens over up William’s archive with 200 sound clips. For aficionados of found sound and forgotten recordings, Downriver Revival isn’t just an interesting listen; it is a catalogue of the sound of a town and an audioportrait of everyday people’s dreams and escapes.
from Flaunt Magazine, Issue 103 2009
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