Bloggin’ The Blues: The Rounders - “Through No Fault of My Own”
I got a package in the mail a month ago from a contact at Blind Pig Records. The first disc I listened to was Wish I Had You by The Rounders. My first attempt to talk about “Through No Fault of My Own†turned into a review of the full album, which you can read at BC Magazine.
I listened to the first song on the album, “God Knows I’m Trying,” and thought it was really good and that I might have stumbled onto something with this record. The next track, “Wish I Had You,†didn’t do much for me the first time I listened to it. At that point, I got called away from my desk and didn’t get to finish listening to it. Had I been called away after hearing only “God Knows I’m Trying,†I would have been in a hurry to hear the rest of the disc. Getting called away after listening to “Wish I Had You†caused me to be less motivated to go further.
A few days passed, and I decided I really should give the album another listen. I couldn’t remember exactly where I’d left off, so I randomly selected a song somewhere in the middle of the album. That was a damn lucky double-click, because “Through No Fault of My Own†changed my mind.
In my review, I declared this a contender for song of the year. I stand by that. This is one of those fire and ice songs, a mixture of cool and intense. Guitarists Ryan Taylor and Michael Stone may not have Clapton’s chops, but their “slowhand” approach brings things to a boil. I love blues guitar lead playing but it’s too easy for some guitarists, even some of the great ones, to treat their songs as nothing more than an excuse to play solos. “Through No Fault of My Own” is a song. Taylor and Stone stack multiple guitar lines that create a sum greater than any of the individual parts; the wailing, amplified harmonica and gritty, distorted vocals give the song a vintage feel.
I listened to “Through No Fault of My Own” a couple more times and then decided to give the rest of the album another listen. Just as you can’t judge a book by its cover, you should refrain from making snap judgments about record. I’ve learned that, and this was just another reminder. I’m glad I gave Wish I Had You a second chance, rather than getting impatient and dismissing it.
Filed under: Bloggin' the Blues, The Rounders
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