This slab of gripping sound was brought about by Jack Rose's exuberant love of lowdown music. Inspired by the Mordecai Jones/Link Wray 3 Track Shack sessions, the idea for this collaboration was germinated while Rose was traveling through the heartland on a tour with D. Charles Speer & the Helix in spring 2008.

Musicians used to the road are familiar with the phenomenon wherein a certain tape or recording becomes the thematic soundtrack to the tour at hand. In this case, daily doses of "Scorpio Woman" and "In the Pines" as performed by Link Wray became the touchstones for their travels together. Jack got so excited by the vibes emanating from these songs that he thought to break with his usual acoustic approach and get some electricity in his life again. So he enlisted the Speer band to join in some unhinged and unrepentant fun in the studio. Recorded using an all live, no overdub approach, the resultant session was deemed an all time favorite experience by everyone lucky enough to partake in it. A gleaming bottle of Buffalo Trace helped shepherd us through the dark hours of the night, and in turn that spirit animal adorns the front cover of the record. As producer, Jason Meagher was able to capture the visceral rough and tumble feel that invigorated his Black Dirt Studio in the dog days of August 2008. Featuring the original lineup of D. Charles Speer & the Helix in peak form and rare lap steel and Telecaster stylings from Rose, Ragged and Right displays a vibrancy and depth of feeling that is striking and unforgettable.

D. Charles Speer & the Helix came together through the common hearing of a certain inflection. Born from the heart and mind of David Charles Shuford, strains of glassine cruelty, broken glasses and ruptured knees mixed with memories of Chet Atkins lullabies and ZZ Top vids to generate a songcraft steeped in tradition but themed for the burned. An early century compulsion to stalk the David Freeman mail order record lis.......
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