We've seen the BoDeans more times than any other band. There's just something about the heartfelt lyrics, Bobby Fuller-meets-Rolling Stones-meets-Los Lobos backing, and incredible two-part harmonies. And the fact they've been one of the biggest bands to come out of Wisconsin in our time has helped draw our attention.
Any of their albums up through 2011 are worth hearing. I chose this one because I remember my colleague Cheryl Schoenhaar bringing it along on the drive from UWS to a meeting at LCO College. Cheryl knew Sam Llanas and Kurt Neumann, the two musicians at the heart of the BoDeans, when they all were in high school in the Waukesha area. We had a long talk about the band.
This album is also of interest because it was recorded at Paisley Park Studios in the Twin Cities with producer David Z, one of Prince's associates. It's a little more produced and electronic than most of the others, but the quality of the songwriting here is outstanding. And...those harmonies. Many BoDeans listeners, though, will tell you the best records are the several produced by T-Bone Burnett and with Kenny Aronoff on drums.
While I'm not certain, I think the album was titled when the band members realized three songs feature the phrase "black and white." There is an undercurrent of interracial relations here, something a little different from their other works.
Sadly, in 2011 Sam Llanas left in 2011 due to longstanding "differences of opinion." The band that continues, while called the BoDeans, is really the Kurt Neumann Band, and we stopped listening at that time. Find the records instead, and appreciate what they once created.
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