Still probably best known for turning in one of THE coolest theme tunes ever with "Woke Up This Morning" (that's "The Sopranos" theme to you an' me, bub), pharmaceutically-assisted Brixton rebels ALABAMA 3 remain the coolest British outlaws on the circuit, which could well be why their new album is called, er, "Outlaw".
As always, the album proffers a heady melange of illegally distilled sounds with Americana, electro and country adding strength to the brew. However, instead of the obvious American outsider tales, much of "Outlaw" finds A3 delving into Britain's rich outsider past: the first time that a 'pop' band has done in so much detail since Chumbawamba's excellent "English Rebel Songs". The results are never less than thought-provoking and - naturally - still shove us unceremoniously in the direction of the dancefloor. Reason enough for W&H to speak with A3's co-leader LARRY LOVE about infiltrating American culture, why he thinks his band are vampires and what how Alabama 3 got to know a great train robber in the flesh.
Larry is quite a character. Not that you'd imagine a boy from the Welsh valleys brought up a Christian fundamentalist by Elvis-obsessive parents would be exactly your average citizen, really, but he's got a whole load've fascinating information and skewed reality goin' on in that quick mind of his. Besides, he speaks so quickly and flits from subject to subject like greased lightning that your correspondent can barely keep up.
We begin with the inspiration behind "Outlaw". Apparently, it stems from a conversation Larry had with Great Train Robber Bruce Richard Reynolds at (get this) a literary festival in Clerkenwell, London. Larry, maybe I'm not indulging in enough recreational substances, but how does such a notorious character become accepted in such high-brow company without "The Sweeney" on his heels?
"Well, he's written a biography called "Crossing The Line", "Larry informs me, matter-of-factly.
"It's him recounting his time in 'The Outsider Club', like. Besides, we got to know him because his son plays harp (harmonica) with us anyway. He shares our fascination for the Jerry Lee Lewis and Leadbelly approach to the gangster tradition and he also knows about the great British revolutions and the executions at Tyburn and so on. He made us realise there was a much greater folk tradition for outlaws in Britain than most people think. "
"I mean, " he continues breathlessly, "you think about the Great Train Robbery and it's all that "Buster" bollocks with Phil Collins, but Bruce told us there was an East End folk singer called Joe Moon who'd been singing songs about the robbery back in 1967 and that set us off on a real voyage of discovery. Bruce isn't a mindless thug, he's a really intelligent bloke. We think "Outlaw" has a lot of pathos about it, and we have to admit the ideas behind it appealed to us from a Johnny Cash-style, 'outsider' point of view...it's very Alabama 3 after all."
Yeah, well I see what you mean about England's lack of recognisable folk/ outlaw myths: after Robin Hood and Dick Turpin I'm struggling....and the real stories behind Robin Hood and Dick Turpin are very different to the myths, aren't they?
"Yeah, they are....you're right," says Larry. "Dick Turpin was a dangerous villain who worked out of Epping Forest for a long while, but even the modern day legends tend to get distorted. Having said that, I do feel it's true that there was a code to the underworld in the 50s and 60s, back in the days of the Kray Twins and so on. If you talk to old cops and gangsters, there is a certain amount of dewy-eyed nostalgia for it all, but however tough those people were, they did keep their communities in line, unlike organised crime as it is now."
Of course, Mr.Reynolds stars in the new album's centrepiece, "Have You Seen Bruce Richard Reynolds", which is an A3 classic in itself, with that wicked slide guitar and lashings of blues harp. Did that one spring from your meeting with the man himself?
"Yeah, it did spring from our meeting in Clerkenwell," Larry reveals.
"I mean, it's an extension of our upbringing, really. We're influenced by gospel and Americana and I actually AM the son of a preacher man, so we've got that going on, but Bruce has a similar outlook on life. I mean, he admitted to me that initially he wanted to rob the train because he'd been obsessed with cowboy films since he was a kid, just like all of us. Hell, when he went on the run after the robbery, he went on pilgrimages all over the States to see the places the James Gang shot up and so on (cackles menacingly)."
Er, right. But, I'm dying to ask this one: did he keep up with Ronnie Biggs during his protracted spell in exile? The Sex Pistols can't have been his only visitors, surely?
"Yeah, Bruce did keep up with Ronnie," admits Larry.
"He flew out to see him in Brazil. I mean, you must understand that Bruce is really respected in certain circles, y'know. He still looks as sharp as fuck, and he's a really intelligent man, like I said earlier. He's not a thug."
Do you personally feel he's a folk hero? There's a lot of people who would dismiss him as purely a dangerous criminal even now and would probably still like to throw the key away...
"Yeah, we'll we were doing a live-on-air radio show recently where we got loads of criticism about 'idolising' him and so on," Larry confesses.
"But it's not really us celebrating him. I will say we appreciate his outsider stance, but we're not judgemental people in Alabama 3. We'd rather raise issues, ask questions and make people think rather than make sweeping statements, although I will say we enjoy a certain amount of mythology."
I'll drink to that. But while we're on the subject of outsiders, one such perennial outsider whose shadow also looms large over the record is the late Johnny Cash. Spiritually, his presence seems to have guided the record and of course you pay tribute to him with new single "Hello...I'm Johnny Cash".....
"We'd started both the album and the song before he died, actually," Larry points out.
"But yes, he does play an important part. Our drummer got a load of his albums and programmed around some of Johnny's rhythms, which gave us a starting point musically, but as you say he's important spiritually too. For one thing, we identify with him always wearing black for the Indians, the outsiders, the world-weary. And his dignity always remained intact. If the album had been completed the way we wanted, we'd have presented it with Bruce (Richard Reynolds) speaking the lyrics from "Folsom Prison Blues" between the tracks, but the Cash estate didn't like it and wouldn't endorse us."
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The lyrics to "Hello...I'm Johnny Cash" are pretty cheeky, too. You namecheck "Long Black Veil", "Ring Of Fire", "A Boy Named Sue", "Jackson" etc...
"Mmm, that caused consternation with the publishers alright," sniggers Larry.
"But I wrote the lyrics in the end and I like fucking around with language. In any case, they're just the titles to his songs I used, to I got around it using that argument. The publishing company were worried about public domain, but I think we've slipped through the net OK," he finishes with some satisfaction.
Talking of such things, the samples are as neat and inventive as ever. One that surprised me was the sample of Aslan's "Crazy World" on "How Can I Protect you?" This is pretty substantial, so one assumes the Dublin rockers are OK about it?
"Oh yeah, no worries," says Larry. "We love Aslan, and besides, we'll always love them for keeping U2 off the no.1 spot with "Crazy World" when that came out," he cackles.
"They've always been seen as bad boys and outsiders, too and their bad reputation still follows them around. We got introduced to them through a tattooist we know in Dublin and we've played with them. Attitude and lifestyle-wise, we have a lot in common, and Christy (Dignam - vocalist and a man whos' had his problems with heroin at times) has led something of a charmed life as well."
To get onto something slightly healthier for a moment, tell me more about the wonderful gospel vocalist featured on the new album standout "Honey In The Rock". You worked with Siobhan Parr the last time round, didn't you?
"Yeah, Siobhan's back on two tracks, but "Honey..." features Devlin Love. She's a young Malaysian woman, she's all of five foot three and has the most amazing voice....we're like vampires in Alabama 3, you know."
Huh.....do you mean I need to feel around for garlic and crucifixes? Larry, I'm speaking to you in daylight, mate: shouldn't you be asleep if so?
"Hur hur....we're like vampires alright," Larry chortles,
"We need new blood around to keep feeding off every time we make a record. We need those collabrations to stay alive."
Oh, I'm quite disappointed now. I was hoping this was actually a phone line to Transylvania as well. Curses. Still, let's get back to the album and "Gospel Train": the excellent, poignant closing tune and arguably this writer's favourite track. I really like the keening backing vocals and the "everybody needs saving" message. It's the perfect way to conclude the album for me. How did that one come together?
"It's based on a sample from Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay"," reveals Larry.
"We didn't know if we'd be able to use it because Bob's notorious for refusing permission, so it was 50/50 at best, but he endorsed it, amazingly."
Larry still sounds suprised about this, and actually goes quite for a few seconds. He's soon bouncing back, though.
"So we looped the track around the sample. I agree, it sounds like a great way to finish up and because of my fundamentalist Mormon upbringing, such apocalypse scenarios appeal to me. Bringing on the end of the day is cool with me!"
"Actually," he continues. "sometimes I think if a meteorite came and wiped out life as we know it and forced us to start again it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe a new breed of humans wouldn't go round shooting each other and destroying themselves the way we seem to feel we have to."
Sobering thoughts, indeed. But let's back to the reality we have to deal with. In A3'S case, that means a further bout of touring to promote the new album. What can we expect from you this time round?
"Touring's stil what we live for, though we really enjoy the studio," replies Larry. "Live, though, you'll encounter a load of shouting, selling of snake-oil, whiskey guzzling and preaching to the bad-living revivalists out there. And of course as always the converts will be flocking to us."
Never doubted it for a second, old son. But time's running out for us, so before we go tell us what difference "Woke up This Morning" has made for you in the long run. Do you mind being referred to as "the band who do "The Sopranos" theme"?
"No, I like it," replies Larry confidently.
"Because everyone always assumes we're American, and people can't understand why we soundlike we do 'cos we're from Brixton and that bings 'em all into the Alabama 3 conundrum and makes them think, which is what we want. It fuels the smokescreen around us."
"Besides," he says, finishing with an immortal quote:
"We like to think of ourselves as a dysfunctional family, so to have infiltrated both "The Sopranos" and "The Simpsons" is ideal by my reckoning. We've gotten to the heart of the US family show heartland....that's the way to do some major damage."
("Outlaw" is out now on One Little Indian).
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