Tuesday, April 24, 2012


















Charlie Tweddle
The Midnight Plowboy
Mighty Mouth [2012]

I don't know what captives me most about Charlie Tweddle. Is it the fact that this collection of songs contains nearly 50% farm animal subject matter, my growing suspicion that Tweddle's trademark is to laugh while singing lyrics that aren't particularly humorous, or is it the stories told within his songs and outside his songs via legend that grab my attention? How about Tweddle's alleged UFO encounters, his questionable denial of heavy psychedelic drug use in the late 60's into the early 70's, or his retired wild beard and extravagant getup? Charlie Tweddle is a real life farmer, real life musician, and real life tale of an acid folk outsider country star gone nearly forgotten. Midnight Plowboy's tracks were mostly written in the 70's, but not recorded until the 90's. With the exception of a small run of his Fantastic Greatest Hits LP (and later CD), Tweddle's songs have barely been heard all these years. So now's your chance to finally hear how a man can actually write a song about a love opportunity he missed out on by personifying a turkey sandwich he had at a diner in Ohio. Outlaw or Autistic? 


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