A Burden Of Proof
Release Date: 2009
Chances are while flipping through channels on cable television, you have come across at least one of four or five Michael Shane Borden songs featured on such shows such as Man V. Food, Gene Simons’ Family Jewels and HBO’s Real Sex. Most of the songs featured are from his second release, Modern Sounds of… which is more of a side burn wearin’, truck driving. honky-tonk themed album compared to his self titled first release which leans more towards traditional country. With Burden of Proof, Borden’s latest release on Crush Proof Records, he takes the best of each of his previous releases and meets in the middle serving up an ample portion of Americana with traditional country tendencies.
Michael Shane Borden teams up with former Billy Idol guitarist ( yes, that Billy Idol) Mark Younger-Smith and Texas newcomer Emile Millar on the production side along with a stellar line up of musicians such as Kim Deschamps (Slide guitar), Brad Fordam (bass), Bukka Allen (piano, B3 and accordion) and Warren Hood (fiddle).
As eclectic as the aforementioned list of TV shows is, the material on Borden’s album may be more so… “Mobile After Dark” is a raucous tale of love gone awry, through apparently a woman scorned has nothing on our fleeing narrator: “ I’ve got whiskey on the brain/ I’ve got Thelma on my heart/ And I’m flying down this highway/ into Mobile after dark/ ‘Shouldn’t ever cross me’, I told her from the start/ but I’ll have my retribution in Mobile after dark” I could have sworn I’d heard it before but such is the nature with Michael Shane Borden. What’s new is old is new again. Shifting gears, Borden segues from fleeing death to finding redemption in a mother’s approval of the Honky-tonk life, it’s entirely possible you’ll be singing along to the chorus before you’ve even finished your first listen.
Throughout Burden of Proof, Borden effortlessly shifts between upbeat, two stepping dancehall (“Courage”), grimy rockers (“Crawfish”), ethereal ballads (“Houston”) and virtually everything in between. On first listen, Borden’s voice and lyrics command your attention. On repeated listens the harmony between the musicians is perhaps the most compelling aspect of the album. This is a professional album made by a professional artist and walks the fine balance between “eclectic” and “traditional” as well as any release in recent memory. Quite simply, there’s nothing ordinary about “Burden of Proof” (though I’d imagine the same could be said of Mr. Borden). And when you think about it, that’s just about the best damn compliment you can offer an artist.
By: Alan Smithee
Originally published in Lone Star Magazine
January / February 2010 issue
