William Russell Wallace’s LP may go by the name of Dirty Soul, but it’s a piece of unadulterated talent, pouring straight from the source.
The whole album is permeated by a palpable confession-like honesty and retrospection that comes in various forms. Some songs are faster and more energetic, oozing joyous frivolity that just makes you daydream about the rock and roll life. Other songs are much more poignant and seem to have come from times when the euphoria of the partying has faded away and given way to guilt.
The common denominator in Dirty Soul between fast and slow tracks, the cheerfully uplifting and melancholically bittersweet is the pronounced, quite classic folk feel which streams from melodic harmonicas, snappy rhythms, catchy guitar riffs, and last but not least, Wallace’s unadorned, beautiful singing.
When you take a closer look at many of the songs’ lyrics, everything comes together even more – Dirty Soul isn’t just the work of a talented musician, but of one that uses music as a conductor of his most inner feelings and thoughts, and in this particular case, the album is perhaps the best form of purging a musician could ever hope for.
