Ranch Ghost
Lookin
Reviewed by: Max Miller
The meaning of “chooglin’,” as per Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bayou Country closer “Keep On Chooglin’,” is a subject of some debate. Although John Fogerty explains in the song’s lyrics that chooglin’ is “to ball and have a good time,” his mention of “chooglin’ on down to New Orleans” on “Born On the Bayou” has led some to believe it’s more of a shorthand for CCR’s entire ethos of carefree traveling and music-making. (Nevermind the fact that the band would eventually dissolve in a blizzard of acrimonious lawsuits.) Perhaps chooglin’ can be whatever you want it to be. In which case I would argue that Nashville’s Ranch Ghost most definitely choogle.
The opening cut on Lookin, the retro-rockin’ four-piece’s debut LP, is called “Black Caboose,” and damn if it doesn’t sound like a steam engine pumping its way across the plains. This track and several others off Lookin have appeared across various EPs Ranch Ghost have released since 2012. The band landed a spot on Bonnaroo in 2013 on the strength of these tunes, so it makes sense they’ve polished them off and presented them here, alongside a couple of new cuts. The album was mostly recorded live, and you can practically hear the tinkling beer bottles and easygoing laughter of a group of friends jamming out. Take “Bleu” for example: When the song pauses and the band switches into a half-time blues groove midway through, you can just picture them swaggering around to the beat, revelling in how cleanly they nailed that tempo change.
The formula for Lookin never really varies much. For the most part, Ranch Ghost stick to driving blues numbers. It’s an “if it ain’t broke” kind of mentality, and it certainly squares up with the Link Wray and Captain Beefheart influences the band claims. With regards to the latter, Ranch Ghost clearly embrace the Safe As Milk end of the spectrum, as compared to the Trout Mask Replica or Doc at the Radar Station end. But even if Safe As Milk is Beefheart’s, ahem, safest record, it still finds plenty of room for big heaps of weirdness. Ranch Ghost don’t ever venture that far outside the box. While Lookin is a refreshing break from garage rock acts who are still a little too hung up on Count Five and the Sonics, a song like “Ragged Mile” still revolves around the same tried-and-true blues figure Aerosmith were ripping off on “Same Old Song and Dance” forty-two years ago.
Ranch Ghost have proven they can choogle with the best of them. Now it’s time for them to show us they can color outside of the lines.
Rating: Listenable
