1+5, 2+4, 3+3

Tony Peyser
Mirror contributing writer
  
   Becca Sutlive is from Iowa and recorded One Bedroom Apartment there, but now lives in San Francisco. You can hear traces of Lucinda Williams but there’s a spirit here that’s more reminiscent of Van Morrison. Like him, Sutlive can repeat a line or phrase without wearing out its welcome. She glides as much as she sings. In the lyrical “Just Too Much,” it’s like Sutlive’s beckoning all of us towards the dance floor where everything will be jake as long as the song keeps playing. This is roots rock that rocks.
   Kate Maki quit her job as a seventh grade teacher in Ottawa to sing full-time. I’m sure her students miss her but if they hear Confusion Unlimited, they’ll hear what they’re missing. Like Sutlive, Maki is a remarkably assured singer and songwriter. “To Be Good” is her declaration of who she is and it’s an honest hoot: “I’m obsessive/A bit possessive/Don’t knew when to stop and when to be aggressive/And I’m a mess/I can’t handle stress/I don’t know when to lie/And when to confess.” This is the kind of song that fans will soon be singing with Maki at her shows —- if they aren’t already doing it.
   Washington-based Clay Bartlett’s debut CD is Fixin’ To Break Down. This title is oddly inappropriate since these eight tracks prove his musical skills are solidly coming together. Like an old sweater you find at a swap meet that’s exactly your size, these songs just fit. Bartlett stirs together blues, country, folk and rock and seasons them with lap steel, harmonica, banjo and mandolin. On “Shoulders Of Fools,” he breezes in like this: “Standing on the shoulders of fools/oh, I’ve done this before/Scored a thousand note symphony for flutes and a tuba horn.” The funny thing is, a guy like Bartlett could maybe make that symphony work.
   The aforementioned Sutlive is from Iowa where Brother Trucker still lives and records. Their third album of heartfelt heartland rock, Something Simple, is another meal from the same satisfying menu. These down home, Des Moines boys are diner guys and wouldn’t be caught dead at a Johnnie Rockets. In “15 Dollars,” a guy panhandles for money to get home and see his girlfriend who’s just about given up on him. Springsteen would be taken by this disarming song. The next time you’re hit up for spare change, you may wonder what a few bucks you won’t miss might mean to someone who’s only heard of Easy Street —- unless, of course, you’re a Republican.
   I once asked singer-songwriter Ramsay Midwood if he thought certain album tracks generally were the best on an album. My pal grinned and replied, “Number 6.” This may or may not be true but … all the songs in today’s column were track six.
   Miles Of Music has One Bedroom Apartment for $10.49, Confusion Unlimited for $12.49, Fixin’ To Break Down for $10.49 and Something Simple for $13.49.
   * On April 10, right here in Santa Monica, check out the otherworldly sounds of Halou and Lili Hayden at The Temple Bar.
   The Retro Goofy Band Name Of The Week is … The Warren Commission.