Review: The Immediate Family ‘Skin In The Game’
By Hal Horowitz
You have surely heard some of the musicians in The Immediate Family, even if you are unfamiliar with the band’s name. You may even recognize them if you’re of a certain age when scouring liner notes of albums was an essential aspect of the listening experience.
Anyone who has absorbed the music of James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Keith Richards (solo), Warren Zevon, or Jackson Browne (and those are only for starters) has been exposed to Danny Kortchmar’s guitar, Leland Sklar’s bass, and Russ Kunkel’s drums, albeit in service to the superstars they have supported over five decades. The trio was once referred to as The Section, releasing three primarily instrumental, under-the-radar albums with that moniker in the 70s. Waddy Wachtel joined in the mid-70s to complete the sound. Together with keyboardist Craig Doerge they have participated in hundreds of sessions and sometimes provided live backup, for dozens of high profile acts.
That would be enough for most artists. But the foursome (minus Doerge who is MIA), expanded to a quintet with third guitarist and lesser-known session man Steve Postell, formed The Immediate Family in 2020 to perform their own originals and take the spotlight, something they previously yielded to others.
It’s impossible to overstate the talents of these guys. They are immensely gifted as testified to by stars that could afford any musicians in the world, but chose them, usually as a team.
The Immediate Family’s 2021 debut full-length established their new name, something reinforced by a wonderful 2024 documentary that recounted their stories individually and as a collective. Carole King’s quote about it encapsulates their evolution “This film is a window into the lives of my musical brothers, whose gold standard is to make sure that every song they play on comes out even better than the songwriter imagined. Now they’re doing that for their own songs, and this film tells their story beautifully.”
That’s a lot of backstory to arrive at the situation at hand, the second release from The Immediate Family titled Skin in the Game.
These 13 originals and one cover (gotta love any act that pulls out a Sparks obscurity, 1988s “The Toughest Girl in Town”) reflect an organic mix of tough garage pop/rockers such as the opening “Whole Lotta Rock and Roll” along with a few singer/songwriter ballads. Of the latter “Catch You on the Other Side” sounds like a combination of influences from Browne and Taylor, two names whose music they are, or were, intimately involved with. Others like the humorous “Party in the Graveyard” with its edgy lyrics “Big data gonna be there…big porno gonna be there,” invokes Zevon references.
They go socio-political on the affable “Lost in the Shuffle” as Kortchmar sings “This world’s full of trouble, and I’m lost in the shuffle, and time keeps shuffling by” which could have been included in Bruce Springsteen’s songbook. The swamp stomp of “Confusion” approximates a good bar band cranking out Creedence Clearwater Revival.
There are some highlights, specifically the Neil Young/Crazy Horse influenced title track and the bluesy, slightly swampy lope of “Love Suicide” with its CSNY-styled backing harmonies. Several tracks like the taut funk of “24/7/365” are solid riffers, with moments that may not knock you over, but beg to be played again.
The workmanlike Skin in the Game feels lived in and organic; a rugged, respectable collection from a veteran outfit that has the chops and potential to wow us on future recordings.
It’s encouraging too that these four septuagenarian (Postell is only pushing 70) lifelong friends are practically family and aren’t doing this for the money, fame, or drugs.
Performing music is in their blood.
The Immediate Family website
Listen to “Whole Lotta Rock and Roll” HERE
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