If you love classic rock — not just the hits, but the deep cuts — you may be shocked to find that it’s still being made with its original pioneering spirit right here in Memphis. Not by a tribute band, but by a loosely affiliated group brought together by guitar-slinger Robert Allen Parker, who emulate the foundational “anything goes” ethos that made the genre take the world by storm in the first place.
Many know Parker from his appearances on Beale Street, or as a clerk at the Memphis Music record shop there, but his interests and ambitions go far beyond the blues. And what’s more, he has the guitar and songwriting chops to create just the kind of venturesome album that could have been born in the early ’70s.
That’s just what he’s done with The River’s Invitation, a new double LP he released on his own Broken String Records last month. And while Parker does play in an Allman Brothers tribute band, Trouble No More (and looks the part), this album goes far beyond simply recreating the sounds of 50 years ago, opting instead to cultivate the same experimental, collaborative energy that informed the entire era.
Memphis Flyer: It’s impressive that you created an album that sounds both old and fresh at the same time.
Robert Allen Parker: The stuff I love the most was from the classic era of rock-and-roll and, of course, that’s vinyl albums. Exile on Main Street, the “White Album,” Electric Ladyland: These are albums that are very comprehensive and allow the artist to stretch out into all kinds of musical territory. And you have the different sides, which are like different trips that you take as a listener, like five or six songs that have a flow to them. Even though it’s different musical genres, it feels seamless. Because it’s all coming from the same place, really. From my musical vision.
You even incorporate some Eastern scales and harmonies, not unlike some Led Zeppelin deep cuts.
That’s the Eastern, Indian, or Arabic scale that was used by Zeppelin and a lot of the earlier psychedelic bands. I wanted to have that be a part of my vision. I love when you’re listening to an album and the songs are not so traditional. Another example would be having short songs between the longer pieces. The spoken word segments on the new album, that’s a guy named Smokey Yates who I work with Downtown. He’s up there in age, and he’s been Downtown pretty much all his life.
Another influence that may be harder to hear is, I’m really into Memphis garage rock. I love that straight ahead, driving rock-and-roll that’s not so much about the instruments, it’s more about the song or the feeling. I love combining that with the way I play guitar and write.
With horns and wah-wah guitar, there’s lot of soul and funk in the mix as well, including a track with the Hi Rhythm Section.
The first 20 songs were recorded at Doug Easley’s studio in 2015, and I was more focused on original material — guitar-based instrumentals and rock songs. I was like, “I have an album ready,” but I felt like I didn’t have all my genres covered. I needed more blues, more soul, more funk. To have the complete vision, I needed to have another session at a different studio, just to get a different sound and feel. And Scott Bomar’s studio, Electraphonic, was perfect for that.
You don’t sing on this, but have a stellar cast of guest vocalists, like Candice Ivory, Chris Stephenson, Lahna Deering, Jason Freeman, and Yubu Kazungu. And the real standout is Kennard Farmer, who sings most of the songs. How did you end up working with him?
He’s an amazing discovery. I met him through Khari Wynn, who plays bass and guitar on the album. He’s done a lot of R&B and soul, so I wanted to experiment and get him in the studio with old-school blues. He sounded so good on those songs, I just kept the experiment going. He’s one of these obscure talents of Memphis, and there are so many of them. People who should be singing in stadiums or something.
The River’s Invitation can be purchased at robertallenparker.com.