3/21/2012

The Sir Douglas Quintet -- "You Never Get too Big and You Sure Don't Get too Heavy That You Don't Have to Stop and Pay Some Dues Sometime"

Doug Sahm inhabited a state he called "Texas." It was with with him when he went to California. It was with him everywhere he went. Various politicians claim to be from Texas, as well, but the Texas they come from is not the same Texas that Doug Sahm came from. As Sahm claimed elsewhere, "you just can't live in Texas if you don't have a lot of soul." I've been to a place called Texas, but I don't think it was the same state Doug Sahm hailed from. The only time I've been to that Texas is when listening to the Sir Douglas Quintet.

Despite the fact that principal bandmate and master Farfisa player Augie Meyers was back in geographical Texas at the time Doug Sahm recorded this song in his pot-bust-imposed California exile, what we have here is a track that captures the essence of the man. Then again, what Sahm composition doesn't capture this essence?

Only Doug Sahm could pull off something like this: a track that mixes soul and rock so effortlessly.  A track that breaks down into a bongo jam with a few abstract notes on the sax dragged out at the end, adding a little free jazz flourish.  A track that could have languished in inane hippie sentiment, but is grounded by the earthy vocal performance, bringing with it traces of classic country in its inflection.  A track that spans borders of all kinds, geographical and generic.

A track that has an amazingly long but still cool title, to boot.

Any artist with less soul would not be able to provide the seemless synthesis of forms and styles that Doug Sahm did on a regular basis.  Sahm is a true singularity in the history of popular music.