While
Mark Lemhouse's background is heavily drenched in the blues, his musical approach could be more broadly described on
The Great American Yard Sale as Americana. He doesn't mind a slow, grinding rock version of "Cluck Old Hen" or a slashing rocker like "Scarlet," but neither does he mind breaking out the banjo on the drinking ode "Paper Sack" and an old-time-sounding ballad like "Never Me." It's not just that
Lemhouse has the ability to change from slashing electric to acoustic guitar, or that he can move from hard-driving blues to old-time banjo; he's also capable of altering his vocal style from grizzly bluesman to folksy to rock star. And while this may sound more eclectic than a
Gourds album, and perhaps disjunctive, it melds together quite well, like the more basic meaning of "Americana" and like a great American yard sale -- because in essence,
The Great American Yard Sale is less a celebration of diversity than a kitchen-sink approach to roots music. Will acoustic guitar, Dobro, and a back-porch vocal work on "The Unofficial Ballad of Story Musgrave"? Will a full-blown blues band righteously underline "The Queen of Easy Street"? The result of this approach is an album that manages to stay interesting until its high-stepping, fun-filled closer, "You're a Bastard." ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.