Luke Doucet

Outlaws (Live And Unreleased) - (Six Shooter)

First, a confession...

I'm not really a big fan of most of the people that Luke Doucet has played with - Chantal Kreviazuk, Blue Rodeo, Sarah McLachan, and so on.  That said, Luke Doucet's solo career hasn't been something that I tried very hard to learn more about.  Well, that was a mistake.

Doucet's a great guitar player, and what comes through on Outlaws is that he's an impressive songwriter as well.  Now, the converted probably already know this thanks to his Aloha, Manitoba CD from 2001, but yours truly's first exposure to Doucet playing under his own banner is this live set recorded at Toronto's Rivoli club in February 2004.

I wish I was there.  That way, I could've have seen Doucet play the inspired and disjointed guitar lines of "Emily, Please", which (along with a great cover of "Gun Street Girl") no doubt accounts for the Tom Waits references that have come Doucet's way.  Doucet's playing is his own, but belongs in the same category as what Marc Ribot played during Waits' Rain Dogs era.  In other words, there's nothing cliched about Doucet's playing.

The fact that a live record can have the ethereal impact that Outlaws has is an accomplishment in itself really.  Things sound "big" when they should (like the heavy drumming on "Pedro") and Doucet and company add a toughness to "Spiderman" and the pretty melody of "Judy Garland" that makes a live CD sound as exciting as it should.

Keep your eyes and ears open on when Doucet might be playing nearby - see you there.

Claudio Sossi

8.0