You can hear Highway Wolf’s Purdie’s Dream as a sort of concept album by proxy. Mick Hellman of San Francisco’s Wreckless Strangers has chosen five songs for the Highway Wolf debut EP that reflect significant aspects of his lifelong journey. The fact that they are relatively eclectic covers of other songwriters’ work introduces the proxy part of the aforementioned proposition. However, Hellman, to his credit, never seeks to merely regurgitate note-for-note recreations of other artist’s songs. He refurbishes these tunes in such a way that they conform to his artistic vision for Purdie’s Dream and better express the mood of the emotional themes he looks to explore. I’m a fan of the approach.
He certainly confounded my expectations with the EP opener “Back in the High Life”. Yes, a Steve Winwood cover. Highway Wolf, however, avoids echoing the glossy 80’s bounce of the original in favor of a muted and soulful Americana cover replete with pedal steel that summons the classic Nashville sound, filtered through Bay Area sensibilities. There has always been a subtext with this song for me. It is tirelessly optimistic on one hand but, on the other, it can sometimes come off sounding like a battered human being teetering on the edge of a continued decline trying to shore up their fading hopes for a better tomorrow. Not in Hellman’s hands, however. It comes across as an unfettered expression of hope here.
His unexpected riff on the Joe Walsh rock classic “In the City” certainly takes on a much different tenor in his hands. He deflates the song’s traditional rock muscle in favor of a rollicking, lightly careening performance rife with near-barrelhouse piano and bluesy implications. Highway Wolf shifts gears with its version of the early Cat Stevens gem “Father and Son”. Hellman shows off his deceptively flexible vocal talents in another country/folk-styled revamp that takes Stevens’ initial vision in a different direction.
The wild and wooly revisit of Fleetwood Mac’s “Blue Letter” should shine a light on a neglected classic from the Buckingham/Nicks era of the legendary British band’s history. I’m an admirer of how seamlessly Hellman moves from the pastoral tilt of the preceding tune into outright rock with this winner. It is utterly convincing in its role. The EP concludes with another Fleetwood Mac cover from the same general time period.
“Silver Springs”, in any incarnation, is a mesmerizing dramatic piece. Highway Wolf foregoes the rock trappings of the original version, however, in favor of a final folk and country-flavored salvo. It nonetheless closes Purdie’s Dream in an emphatic manner with a climax that the brief collection deserves. Cover songs or not, this is a solid and rewarding EP at every turn that works as a harbinger for greater things to come.
I believe it is a great introduction to Highway Wolf. This isn’t a throwaway project, a sidebar amusement for Mick Hellman. Everything about Highway Wolf’s Purdie’s Dream comes across as the real deal and encourages listeners to keep coming back for more.
Garth Thomas