Bob Frank and Los Gueros
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Bob Frank and Los Gueros

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Band Americana Folk

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Pledge of Allegiance"

(Bowstring Records, 2004):

“This music is that rare slice of Americana that gets passed over these days by too many hurried folks. It's that breath of authentic fresh air mixed with serendipity — like happening upon a forgotten coffee house and discovering a genuine troubadour inside who isn't afraid to sing about what's really on everybody's mind. He understands the sentiments of the average Joe because he is one. Unlike society, the troubadour hasn't changed his ways in all these years, he's merely become more seasoned in the experience. Such is Bob Frank's Pledge of Allegiance CD. The payoff is like running across some treasure we'd once enjoyed and then set aside. Now we recall how much we've missed it.” — Hoover, “The Lost Outlaw.”

“Singer/songwriter Bob Frank offers 15 witty, provocative and striking musical slices of American life in Pledge of Allegiance (Bowstring). Sometimes,… the message can be quite controversial or troubling, yet Frank's warm, stylized playing and vocals should prove appealing even for those who don't share his views. Overall,… he has done a fine job both in examining thorny issues and also presenting varied, nicely written and crafted compositions that engage and entertain the audience.” — Ron Wynn, Nashville City Paper, July 16, 2004

“Songs like ‘Red Neck, Blue Collar,’ ‘Medical Marijuana,’ and ‘Unwanted Children’ offer tales of the salt of the earth by one of their own… Frank’s ‘pledge’ has nothing to do with blind allegiance to his country. It’s a pledge to what he obviously feels a more personal loyalty to — the working class that made that country great.” — Bill Glahn, Community Free Press. - Many reviews


"Keep on Burning"

(Bowstring Records, 2002):

“This is, after all, where this rock and roll mess began: a human being and a guitar… Bob Frank’s songs are the proscenium between the personal and the universal… Listen to how the words are phrased, how the lines are broken and assembled to the performance… These songs, this record, Bob Frank: time just ain't a factor.” — Robert Gordon, author of It Came from Memphis.

“Hopefully this cult musician won’t remain invisible for long. He has an absolutely wonderful new album, Keep on Burning… Richly sung by Frank, the album includes a diverse, superb set of songs that encompasses cowboy numbers, Civil War balladry, mariachi music, Jimmie Rodgers-styled country, and irreverent folk. The album… deserves — nay, demands — wider distribution.” — Chris Morris, Billboard.


“With Frank’s precisely phrased lines — sometimes partly spoken and others crooned in a rich, even baritone — well up front in the mix, Keep on Burning is as compelling a slice of traditional-lined, modern-day America as they come.” — Fred Mills, Goldmine.

“The album is a gentle, irreverent, and wide-ranging collection of ‘folk music’… and fits comfortably in the tradition of boho folk and outsider country that encompasses locals in the Mudboy & the Neutrons sphere of influence, East coasters like the Fugs and the Holy Modal Rounders, and West Texas cowboy poets like Terry Allen and the Flatlanders.” — Chris Herrington, Memphis after Dark.

“The wry folk-country result is an album of stark intimacy and searing insight…mixes old material with the new, and good luck telling which is which. They all sound of a different time.” — Bill Ellis, The Commercial Appeal.

“…a professional but relaxed sound around Frank’s warm, unguarded baritone vocals… unified by a swampy Memphis country feel that Frank attributed to ‘the river and the humidity and the jungle down there’ seeping into the music.” — Derk Richardson, The San Francisco Bay Area Guardian. - many reviews


"Little Gest of Robin Hood"

(Bowstring Records, 2001)

“… an engrossing acoustic adaptation of the 456-stanza 15th century narrative poem.” — J.R., www.nashvillescene.com.

“This weird and wonderful CD presents a rarity: a 500-year-old song that’s accessible to modern audiences… Frank performs it essentially as a talking blues. Sounding a little like Waylon Jennings’ balladeer on ‘The Dukes of Hazard’… his animated speaking style makes the serious parts exciting and the jokes funny, and his plain-spoken language means anyone can enjoy it. It is at once the same song Wynken de Worde printed, and an entirely new poem, a piece of work more authentic than any Robin Hood movie, and equally entertaining.” — Steve Winnick, Dirty Linen.

“His performance of the ballad in 2001, at a Canadian conference of Robin Hood scholars, artists, writers, actors, etc., was greeted with enormous enthusiasm. College professors are using it in their Medieval Literature and History classes; scholars praise it, children listen.” — Faith Petric, Sing Out.

“It’s amazing how the Gest responds to a good performance. Too often medievalists can’t take their eyes off the pages of books in order to listen… I hope that you will carry on delighting the dry old medievalists.” — Douglas Gray, Retired Oxford Don. - Many reviews


"Bob Frank"

(Vanguard, 1972):

In retrospect:

“The LP included insights, images and viewpoints miles ahead of what almost everyone else was doing in either rock or country at the time… anyone who’s ever listened to Frank’s music has been amazed… one of the nation’s greatest songwriters… Frank has no weaknesses as a composer… great hooks, intelligent lyrics that don’t rely on clichés or pat situations, and storylines that make listeners think without becoming pedantic or preachy… delivered with a confidence and individualistic approach that should have appeal across idiomatic lines.” — Ron Wynn, Nashville City Paper, 2002.

At the time:

“Incredible lyricist.” — Record World.

“Natural singer and story teller, who does both well.” — The Walrus Report.

“He paints pictures with his words.” — River City Review.

“A barefoot Randy Newman… Some of his songs are potential classics. In ‘Cold Canadian Pines,’ he evokes a sense of beautiful desolation, the mood equivalent of Canadian tundra, as deftly as Lightfoot or Ian Tyson.” — Boston After Dark.

“Bob Frank is a reflexive mouthpiece of America. His songs, music and singing tell the story of American life as it is now and was in the past. His album is a folk masterpiece. He creates an audience out of people who are not folk music fans, such as myself. And finally, the potential for a folk superstar is there.” — Alex Calabrese, Stockton College Review. - Many reviews


"Ride the Restless Wind"

(Bowstring Records, 2005):

“He's a masterful songwriter and very striking vocalist whose songs have been recorded by numerous vocalists and groups, yet Bob Frank is another of those names well respected among musicians and generally unknown to the broader audience… Frank's pieces are always highly literate, superbly crafted and frequently provocative. They're far too witty and original to get much radio airplay, but they shouldn't be missed by anyone seeking smart, well performed and entertaining music that's neither dry nor predictable.” — Ron Wynn, Nashville City Paper, June 24, 2005.

“…Ride the Restless Wind showcases (Frank’s) ability as a songwriter with an eye for detail on this 12-song collection that emphasizes his folk/country roots…Frank delivers his songs in a folksy, easygoing manner that captures a listener’s attention…On his Web site, Frank bills himself as “one of the most obscure songwriters on the planet.” With the quality of songs on his new CD, he may have to rewrite that description. — Tom Wilk, Prime Time, September, 2005. - Many reviews


"Whoever Listens to the Lamb?"

(Bowstring Records, single, 2003):

“Written as a folk ballad (and its dark, minor-chord presentation could almost pass for a Richard Thompson number), the song addresses the conflict by posing a series of existential questions.” — Bill Ellis, www.gomemphis.com. - Bill Ellis, Commercial Appeal


"Review"

Sound Advice
By Chris Herrington, Memphis Flyer

A onetime habitué of the Memphis bohemian folk and coffeehouse scene that helped spawn Jim Dickinson and Sid Selvidge, among other local-music fixtures, Bob Frank put out one album in 1972 for the folk label Vanguard and then promptly disappeared from the music scene. Relocated to Oakland, California, Franks’s lone foray into recorded music became something of a cult item, and now, he’s back. Frank’s new album, Keep on Burning, was recorded at Dickinson’s Zebra Ranch Studio, with Dickinson producing and a who’s who of area talent — including North Mississippi Allstars Luther and Cody Dickinson, ex-Riverbluff Clan members Tommy Burroughs and Jimmy Davis, and scene cohorts Sid Selvidge and Jimmy Crosthwait — lending support.

The album is a gentle, irreverent, and wide-ranging collection of “folk music” — a Civil War ballad, a trucker song, outlaw songs, and idiosyncratic gospel, with echoes of ragtime, Dixieland, and jug-band music — and fits comfortably in the traditions of boho folk and outsider country that encompasses locals in the Mudboy & the Neutrons sphere of influence, East Coasters like the Fugs and the Holy Modal Rounders, and West Texas cowboy poets like Terry Allen and the Flatlanders.

Frank will play four shows this weekend as part of a homecoming trip. He’ll do an in-store at Shangri-la Records at 5 p.m., Friday, October 4th, and play later that night (9 p.m.) at Earnestine and Hazel’s. On Saturday, October 5th, at 7 p.m., Frank will play the Blues City Café. And Sunday, October 6th, he’ll play the afternoon slot at Huey’s Midtown. - Memphis Flyer


"Press--Chuck Prophet"

Yer CD's a treasure. Is it true that you writ Sabers in Our Hands while in high school? Say it isn't so! What a piece of work! Worth the price of admission right there as they say. Right on. Great CD. Keep on burning and be true to your school.
-- Chuck Prophet - Chuck Prophet


Discography

Ride The Restless Wind (Bowstring)
Pledge of Allegiance (Bowstring)
Keep on Burning (Bowstring)
A Little Gest of Robin Hood (Bowstring)
Bob Frank-S/T (Vanguard)

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

In the last forty years there have been countless "new" Dylans — only two individuals came close to rising to that mantle: Bruce Springsteen and Bob Frank. Unlike the majority of celebrated singer-songwriters, both of these men’s roots were true blue collar — and both debut albums lived up to the hype. Like the hero in the motion picture, Eddie and the Cruisers, something mysterious happened to Frank almost as soon as his album was released. He disappeared. The album Bob Frank, released on Vanguard Records in 1972, was universally hailed by critics, but there was no Frank to interview or perform the songs.

The album became one of the most sought after collector's items in music history, averaging $100 a copy, but for more than thirty years Bob Frank disappeared as completely as D.B. Cooper. If you were lucky enough to have heard the songs on Frank's album, you might even think these two guys were one and the same.

Over the years a cult following has developed all over the world for the Bob Frank album. Poorly recorded bootlegs of the album and a few concert tapes were circulated from Australia to Norway. The recurring question was always, “What happened to Bob Frank?” — with most thinking he, like John Kennedy Toole of Confederacy of Dunces fame, had probably exited the world before his genius was recognized.

Well, the mystery has been solved, and here is the story:

In the late sixties, Bob Frank wrote for Tree Publishing Company in Nashville. When John Hiatt came to Nashville, the first night he was there, he slept on the floor of Bob's apartment. In 1971, Gary Walker and Cletus Haegert got Bob a deal with Vanguard to make an album.

Personal demons and a refusal to promote his album caused Bob to leave the music business. He wound up working for the City of Oakland, installing and maintaining irrigation systems in the ball fields and parks. He and his wife raised four kids and now he has two grandchildren. And all that time, he never quit writing songs.

And now he's back, finally willing to showcase his talent in the commercial world. Beginning in 2001, in quick succession, he has released three albums which have garnered more rave reviews from major music periodicals, such as Billboard, No Depression, Goldmine, Big O, Sing Out, Dirty Linen, and numerous other publications. His new songs are also garnering airplay on Americana and roots/alternative radio stations.

He has a new album out now and a band. Wherever they play, people come out of the woodworks with that old Vanguard album, wanting Bob to autograph it.