I first met “Scrappy” Jud about 15 years ago when he was a member of Loose Diamonds with Troy and Mike Campbell. He impressed me with his hard riffing guitar play and a wonderfully happy-go-lucky attitude. Since then the band has been gone for several years and Jud has turned into a respected producer for Beaver Nelson and guitarist for nearly everyone who’s anyone in Austin from Ian McLagan to Toni Price to Ray Wylie Hubbard to Bob Schnieder. Most notably he currently sits in with the Resentments, a songwriters circle of sorts with Stephen Bruton and Jon Dee Graham, and the Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers, a gospel rave up with Gurf Morlix and Papa Mali.
But enough name dropping, Scrappy’s new solo effort, Byzantine, is his best work yet. He sings with a passion that he’s never revealed before – I’d be first to say his sandpapered vocals have always been an acquired taste – and the songs are mature in unexpected ways. It’s as if all the talent he’s worked with over the years have seeped into his consciousness and blended into something remarkably fresh.
Jud Newcomb: Plain and Simple
January 4, 2006 at 9:13 pm |
I like it. But is it a good or bad thing that this song is so conventional it could have been recorded thirty years ago? The same can be said for The Action Is, the Austin band I’m featuring at my site tomorrow.
April 3, 2006 at 8:36 pm |
I enjoy the lack of pretense. Straightforward/honest. Gets the feet moving. I have Byzantine and gotta tell ya, there are three or four other tracks I prefer over this.
December 30, 2007 at 12:25 pm |
Cool sound, but byzantine is better as for me.