PSALM23.17 JOE AND ROSE LEE MAPHIS 'COLD HEART OF STEEL'
“Sweet bird, that shun the noise of folly,
most musical, most melancholy!”
-John Milton
The career of Joe and Rose Lee Maphis as an
act was always overshadowed by Joe Maphis’ status as a stylish guitarist and an
innovator of country music. Joe Maphis and his customised twin neck Mosrite
guitar were utilised behind such greats as Rose Maddox, Rick Nelson, Johnny
Burnette and Wanda Jackson in the 1950s and ‘60s and he’s roundly acclaimed as
an inspiration for Merle Travis and indeed Johnny Cash.
While this collection features a handful of
instrumental sides by Joe, some with Rose Lee, it’s the first ten tracks that
are the real gems here. Joe and Rose Lee were married in 1948 and through the
‘50s their duets examined the troubled side of relationships.
Even when the tempo lifts, as on ‘Let’s Fly
Away’ or ‘You Can’t Take The Heart Of Me’, the mood downbeat. The former is a
tale of nervous propositions as the dialogue reveals that the only chance of
happiness is to elope without their parents’ consent. Amid the barrelhouse
boogie of the piano and the shuffling drums there’s still a sense of unrequited
love that’s also present on the latter’s story of the other woman and the
nonchalant way that Rose Lee looks forward to a “lifetime of regret”. Stern
stuff.
Steel guitars and fiddles accentuate the
melancholy and even a rampaging banjo can’t lift the mood as stories of love,
loss and general all round sorrow produce a serene feeling of sadness. Sure
enough, Joe and Rose Lee recorded and released plenty of upbeat material, but
these stories of sadness resonate with real passion.
‘The Parting Of The Ways’ and ‘I’m A
Stranger In My Home’ are the stuff of smoke filled honky tonks and last orders
states of collapse. Indeed, ‘Dream House For Sale’ with its rolling fiddle and
Joe and Rose Lee’s harmonies are a tearjerking realisation of wayward
relationships.
That said, things move on as Rose Lee perfectly
demonstrates on her solo song ‘Country Girl Courtship’ a rousing call to arms
where she admits her desire to net a guitar man, then a fiddle player, not to
mention the guy with the banjo. And there’s a happy ending as she ends up with
a guitar man who teaches her how to strum.
All’s well that ends well, but it doesn’t
take much effort to spin this disc again and return to the lonesome blues and
stories of regret that open proceedings. Just a few bars of ‘Please, Mr
Mailman’ and Rose’s yearning plea for a letter to make her “life worth living”
and her dreams come true couldn’t be any more distressing.
Now, let’s spin it again and get one for
the road.
TRACKLISTING
The Aching And Yearning Country Tearjerkers
1 Cold Heart Of Steel2:44Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
2 I Love You Deeply2:40Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
3 I'm A Stranger In My Home3:12Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
4 The Parting Of The Ways3:04Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
5 Let's Fly Away2:40Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
6 Please, Mr Mailman3:04Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
7 I'm Willin' To Try2:35Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
8 Let's Pull Together2:24Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
9 Dream House for Sale3:15Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
10 You Can't Take the Heart Out of Me2:38Joe
And Rose Lee Maphis
