REVIEW: Mike Schikora — Outlaw from the South (LP)
Montana-born LBGTQ cowboy Mike Schikora’s new album Outlaw from the South doesn’t parade the singer’s politics or boast any agenda beyond storytelling and entertaining/moving audiences. Recruiting five-star collaborators such as Baillie & the Boys’ Kathie Baillie and Michael Bonagura to fill out the album’s twelve compositions is a marvelous redundancy. These songs don’t need additional support, you’ll think Schikora’s genius alone carries the day, but their respective gifts enhance whatever they touch. It’s arguably Schikora’s finest moment yet and plays as representative of his rich and varied artistic life.
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“Outlaw from the South” is quite a formidable moment. It isn’t a song for the faint of heart as Schikora’s songwriting doesn’t pull any punches depicting the song’s unforgiving storyline. Some listeners may question if “Outlaw from the South” is gratuitous, but a closer listen reveals his intentions. He’s trying to spin a tale of Old Testament-like vengeance populated by desperate people with desperate motives. It’s a Sam Peckinpah-like cinematic narrative that hooks you despite its violent, even horrifying, details.
He takes a turn into bluesy balladry with the album’s third cut, “You Do Me Wrong”. The plaintive sense of romantic injustice planted in the title comes across in its lyrics through plainspoken and dramatic language. Schikora uses his voice wide-open, free to explore its emotional range, and it dominates a relatively bare-bones arrangement sustained with organ and guitar accompaniment. “Waitin’ Out a Storm” will have across-the-board meaning for listeners thanks to its lyrics about riding out the bad times until better days arrive. He structures the song in a much more self-conscious fashion beginning with a lean acoustic guitar-driven performance before soon segueing into a full-band effort.
Schikora makes excellent use of organ at various points during Outlaw from the South. The warm glow emanating from within “You’re My Angel” fills the slowly developing track with color. It elicits an impassioned vocal from Schikora, a sure contender for one of the album’s best. “I Gotta Love Like That” has genuine pop appeal despite its straightforward tempo and aversion to deviation. The march-like pacing of the performance does imbue the arrangement with an unexpected impetus that further strengthens its emotional punch.
“It’s Alright” is another cut that expertly balances artistic and emotional authenticity with sharp pop sensibilities. The song’s refrain is especially beguiling. “When Forever Smiles” deserves attentive study as your first impression about the song’s subject may not be correct. It’s one of Outlaw from the South’s most affecting moments. “Last Rose of Summer” concludes the collection opening with its chorus for good reason; it’s one the best of such moments included on this release. It’s another love song on an album full of such sentiments. It finds yet another variation on the many different moods such emotional weather can create.
Mike Schikora’s music doesn’t harp about his LBGTQ lifestyle. It doesn’t have to. It doesn’t need to stand on that because Schikora and his assorted collaborators have written songs resolutely about life as we all know it, rather than narrowing its focus to one community or group of people. Outlaw from the South is a superb reminder, if we needed it, of Mike Schikora’s unique and substantial talents.
Colin Jordan
