FROM THE FILES OF THE IMPROBABLE

Great White Wall: Luther Wright and the Wrongs cross Bill Monroe with Roger Waters on "Rebuild The Wall" (Brian Baker, 12/19/02, Cincinnati City Beat)

Country Rock/Bluegrass travelers Luther Wright & the Wrongs, once a side project for Sarah Harmer's Weeping Tiles and now an entity unto themselves, are crammed into their touring van as they make their way to the next gig across the vast expanse that is their native Canada. Bandleader Wright sits with his banjo on his lap, absently picking out the melody of whatever comes out of the van's radio. As the familiar strains of "Another Brick in the Wall," Pink Floyd's only No. 1 U.S. single and a song once banned by the BBC, pour out of the van's speakers, Wright finds the song's structure lends itself easily to his attention, and in a split second, a truly strange thought occurs to him, a thought that is ultimately fleshed out by a little closer examination.

"We kind of figured out that The Wall was totally gonna work as a Country Western/Bluegrass record," says Wright from the band's Michigan tour stop. "Chord-wise and theme-wise, as far as the concepts of dissociation and heartache and heartbreak, they're all classic Country themes, and musically and melodically it all just translated really well to the bouncy Country thing that we were already doing. As soon as we figured it out, we started to boast, 'Oh yeah, we're gonna redo The Wall. We figured it out.' Some people were like, 'That's brilliant. That's a great idea.' Most folks were like, 'You guys are crazy. What are you talking about?' "

Thus was born one of the strangest and most engaging musical endeavors in recent memory; the astonishing Bluegrass reinvention of The Wall by Luther Wright & the Wrongs, entitled Rebuild the Wall.

It's worth following the link to the album at Amazon just to see the "Customers who bought this title also bought" feature. "Lounge Against the Machine" seems likely to be especially good. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 27, 2002 5:22 PM