“Dub Miller is a modern poet laureate of Texan culture”. It is with these words that experts in the music business have defined this singer from Pontotoc,TX, who returns to the scene with the release of this album, with 11 new songs, after a silence that has lasted too long. His last Cd, entitled “Post Country”, dates back to the distant 2002 (excluding “The Lost Live Recordings” of 2015). “The Midnight Ambassador”, recorded for Yellow Dog between Texas and the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, is a very nice Cd, well constructed, musically, as well as lyrically. Dub is definitely a poet with a keen sense of melody, note after note, song after song. “The Midnight Ambassador” reveals all of his expressive and evocative powers. The songs, all written by Dub Miller, are slices of everyday life set in many areas of Texas, where the protagonists are real people, with their various contradictions and their everyday stories. Dub is very good at grasping the very soul of this, and bring it to the attention of the listener. The album opens with “Things I Love About You”, a sweet ballad opening with the sound of a guitar leading onto the steel, pointing out just how good this songwriter is. “Mandi Jean” is also very nice, probably the most country sounding track of the entire Cd (along with “Big Chief Tablet” which reminds us of the great bayou sound). “Charlie Goodnight” is the classic cowboy song finalised with “Ain’t No Cowboy”, whilst “Taking Away Our Sunshine” often strays into country / rock. My favourite however is the title track, “The Midnight Ambassador”, pure as Texas red dirt. Also available in a version with a bonus track (“The Sailboat Song”), “The Midnight Ambassador” can be purchased via the usual sales channels and on Itunes. Nashville is definitely much farther away from a musical point of view than a geographical one. (Gianluca Sitta)
