Arlen Roth: Tools Of The Trade

Toolin’ Around Woodstock (Featuring Levon Helm)
Arlen Roth
(Aquinnah)

There are great albums and there are great guitar albums. Arlen Roth’s latest, “Toolin’ Around Woodstock (Featuring Levon Helm),” despite billing one of rock’s great drummers in its title, is more the latter than the former.

It’s not that there’s anything to dislike about “Toolin’ Around Woodstock,” which was recorded at Helm’s Woodstock, N.Y., studio. It’s a perfectly enjoyable 14-song set of covers from the catalogs of Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Bob Dylan, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Buck Owens, Joe South and others, plus a couple of originals. It’s just that the disc is likely to appeal more strongly to guitar aficionados, advocates and addicts more than the average music fan.

That stands to reason. Roth, who’s not exactly a household name, is highly regarded in guitar circles. He’s been an in-demand sideman for the likes of Paul Simon and John Prine. Many guitar players, those without the choice gigs, know him from his popular series of “Hot Licks” instructional videos.

Needless to say, Roth is a guitar guy. And “Toolin’ Around Woodstock” is a disc for other guitar guys (and gals). Roth enlists the help of friends and family such as Helm on drums and his daughter Amy Helm (Ollabelle) on vocals, guitar slingers Bill Kirchen and Sonny Landreth, and Roth’s daughter Lexie on vocals.

The guests turn in some outstanding performances. It’s good just to hear Helm’s voice again after his recovery from throat cancer. The illness and the years mean that he’s not in his Band-era prime, but he’s still a soulful singer. His drumming, as always, is great. Landreth and Roth trade greasy slide licks on the Roth original “Tumblin’,” and the same goes for Kirchen and Roth, sans slides, on the latter’s “Gas Station Frustration.” Lexie Roth distinguishes herself with the lead vocal on Willie Nelson’s “Night Life.”

As good as the other performers are at times, the best moments on “Toolin’ Around Woodstock” are provided by Roth and his instrument of choice. His technique is flawless, and his playing is tasteful throughout. He’s pictured on the cover with a flame-adorned Telecaster, and though he is not as well known he plays every bit as well as more famous masters of the Telecaster such as Clarence White, Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton. If you know any of those players, it will give you an idea what you can expect from Roth.

Roth’s instrumental voice is powerful. He tears into Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Man,” and his snarling guitar does a much better job of conveying the vitriol in Dylan’s vocal than did the organ solo on the original track. Roth’s impassioned take on the Santo and Johnny classic “Sleepwalk” is sublime. And he really cuts loose on “Unchained Melody,” with pick squeals, fluid phrasing and volume swells that recall the late, great Buchanan and Gatton.

For those who aren’t guitar devotees, there are a couple of potential drawbacks. Roth isn’t a terribly strong vocalist (though his voice blends well with Kirchen’s on South’s “Games People Play”). And some of these old chestnuts, such as Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” and Perkins’ “Matchbox,” have been done to death over the years. So if you’re not normally into guitar hero worship, you might want to try before you buy. Kick the tires a bit on iTunes, perhaps. But if you are a guitar fanatic, forget tooling around. Get on down to where music is sold and pick up “Toolin’ Around Woodstock.”