A Wayne “The Train” Hancock album is as refreshing as a beer pulled from a tub of ice on a summer’s day. You stick your hand deep into that tub, you know it’s gonna be cold, and you know it’s gonna be beer, but, dang, if it ain’t always a kick how surprisingly JUST RIGHT it is. Slingin’ Rhythm is just right, a finely honed, day-in-the-life brand of juke joint rhythm sitting in the sweet spot of American music invention between country, hillbilly, jazz and western swing.
And while “The Train” is indeed a throwback, the funny thing is, the more retro he gets, the fresher he sounds. His songs about the everyday and the everyman, with their driving pulse and live-in-the-moment vibe, have a character and passion that go beyond a particular time.
As always, Wayne writes what he knows with the clarity and honesty of a door slam. Like the title track, both a tenacious statement of purpose and a straight-up, no-chaser bio, says:
“I love the road and my plans are never to retire, and anyone who says that I will is nothin’ but a liar…cuz that’s how I make my livin’, slingin’ rhythm”