You likely know, or at least have heard, vocalist and guitarist Blondie Chaplin. He was a member of The Flames in the 1960s, and then The Beach Boys in the early 1970s. He also recorded with The Rolling Stones and The Band, as well as several other artists, and released a few solo albums. The guy has quite a music career. He joined The Tasty Kings for Native Tongue, which was released digitally in 2023, and has now gotten a proper CD release. Why it didn’t get a wide release initially is something I can’t fathom. It features excellent songs performed by accomplished musicians. The Tasty Kings were founded by guitarist Andrew Morse, who wrote the material on this album. The band has had several different members over the course of its history, and now includes Darryl Jones, who also plays bass in The Rolling Stones, and Charlie Sexton, who is known for his work with Bob Dylan and is also a member of Elvis Costello’s band. So, you know, this is a band you might want to pay attention to. This album also features the talents of Charley Drayton on drums (you know him from his work with Keith Richards), Kevin Trainor on guitar, Tony Garnier on bass, George Reiff on bass, Stephen Barber on piano and keyboards, Ian McLagan (of Small Faces) on keyboards (those tracks must have been recorded a while ago, as McLagan died in 2014), and Jose Galeano on percussion. Juliana Sheffield, Sally Allen and Teresa Gattison provide backing vocals.

The album opens with “Done & Dusted.” There is a bit of a Rolling Stones vibe to this song, it taking place in that great meeting place of country, blues and rock. Blondie Chaplin delivers a good lead vocal performance. “Done and dusted/I’m just waitin’ to be/Done and dusted/Nothing left of me.” Andrew Morse wrote this one at the beginning of the pandemic, when everything was shut down and people were afraid to go out. It was a strange experience, to be sure, walking about in a usually-crowded area, and finding no one, the restaurants and everything closed. I remember driving at rush hour here in Los Angeles, and never having to hit my brakes. “Done and dusted/In the city that sleeps.” That’s followed by “Maybe I’m A Queen,” a stirring song, in which Blondie Chaplin sings, “Maybe I believe/Maybe I don’t/Maybe I’ll succeed/Maybe I won’t.” The repetition of the word “maybe” works so well, particularly as there are no certainties anymore. There is a sort of introspective bent to it, but then it turns outward, as it comes to address another person: “Tell me, my love, my love/When we were enough.” The song seems to encompass, or embrace, all possibilities, and so all people. It’s a beautiful and sad song, and Blondie Chaplin gives a passionate and beautiful vocal performance. Milo Deering plays dobro on this track, delivering some wonderful work. This is one of my personal favorites.

Listening to “Birthday Girl” the first time, I couldn’t help but think of my niece, who had turned nineteen just two days earlier. How the time flies. “The years go by, that’s how it goes.” Indeed. There is a nice vibe about this song. “You’re the birthday girl/And the whole wide world loves you.” This is one of the tracks to feature Ian McLagan on keyboards. Then there is a more somber, but dreamlike quality to “South America” as it begins. And the first line hits us hard: “The Statue of Liberty has gone dark.” Yup, that is just about right. It’s a big line, isn’t it? It is interestingly followed by a somewhat more mundane and usual concern: “And there’s nowhere to park.” Certainly, that’s a common frustration, at least for those of us who live in cities. These lines make me think of that whiny sociopath currently occupying the White House: “And his big day was ruined/By the small size/Of his crowd.” But this song is not about that; rather it is a look back at a relationship that fell apart. There is a sad beauty to its sound, to its delivery. “And if just one more time/I could put my lips/On South America/I’d remember for a while/And die with a smile.” I love the guitar work on this track, particularly that lead in the second half.

“Oceans Unfaithful” certainly has a Rolling Stones flavor, and its opening lines grab us: “The sky is right/The wind is wrong/The ocean’s unfaithful/But it won’t take long.” That idea, that image, of an unfaithful ocean is particularly wonderful. “Take my hand/Aces and eights/And lay your head/On the dinner plate/The world is stuck/In black and white/To live my life/In paradise.” That’s followed by “George Floyd.” There have been several songs written about George Floyd. His murder by the police sparked outrage in anyone with a pulse. It was yet one more bit of evidence that this country hasn’t really made any progress at all. If you need further proof of that, just look at who is in the White House now, and think of all the eager little fascists who put him back there. This is a strong and moving song. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “Well, two sets of rules/One black and one white/That’s the best we can do/As you beg for your life/A few on the ground/Tried to shut down/What they saw/But the men of the law/The men of the law/Oh, the men of the law.” This song does not end on an optimistic note, but rather an honest one: “But the river of evil/That runs through the hearts/Of the men/Will do it again/Again and again/And again.”

“Flyboy” is a song touching on Greek mythology, particularly the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus. It has something of a sweet country flavor, and contains what is possibly the album’s best vocal performance. It is powerful and passionate, just fantastic, reminding me a bit of some of Richard Thompson’s work. And that performance is the main reason this track is another of the disc’s highlights. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “He considers the grace/And the shape of a bird/And tries to imagine/Escaping this earth/Slipping the bonds/Of the surly unkind/To go somewhere new/For the rest of his life.” The Tasty Kings then turn to a reggae groove for “Steady Reggie,” a song about a moving company. This one features John Mills joining the group on saxophone and Joel Diamond joining on keyboards, and also contains a lot of good stuff on guitar.

“Kiss Me” has a sweet folk sound, featuring some pretty guitar work. After we’ve gotten comfortable in this wonderful music and atmosphere, Blondie sings the first line, “Maybe you should kiss me.” And there is so much joy in the room that a kiss sounds like exactly the right thing. Though, after a brief pause, he follows that line with this one: “Maybe you should dismiss me.” This is another of my personal favorites. It even contains a Shakespeare reference: “If all the world’s a stage/Maybe we should turn the page.” That reference is to Jacques’ famous speech from As You Like It, which begins “All the world’s a stage/And all the men and women merely players.” A kiss plays a part in “Girl Next Door” too: “But I remember/I kissed her once before/That girl next door.” This is another of the tracks to feature Ian McLagan on keyboards, and there is some really nice guitar work too. It’s a perfect conclusion to an excellent album.

(Michael Doherty, michaelsmusiclog.blogspot.com, 14.03.2025)