| Tenement Angels | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Scott Kempner |
| Cover: | Tenement Angels.jpg |
| Released: | 1992 |
| Studio: | Column One, Springfield, Missouri |
| Genre: | Rock, roots rock |
| Label: | Razor & Tie |
| Producer: | Lou Whitney, Manny Caiati, Scott Kempner |
| Next Title: | Saving Grace |
| Next Year: | 2008 |
Tenement Angels is an album by the American musician Scott Kempner, released in 1992.[1] [2] Kempner supported the album by touring with Jason & the Scorchers.[3]
Recorded in Missouri, the album was produced by Lou Whitney, Manny Caiati, and Scott Kempner.[4] Kempner was backed by the Skeletons, a roots rock band; Caiati, Kempner's bandmate in the Del-Lords, contributed bass parts.[5] The album contains a cover of "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet", by the Reflections.
The Washington Post thought that, "like Chuck Berry's, Kempner's lyrics seem at first glance to concern nothing more complicated than cars, girls and street corners, but like Berry's, Kempner's songs are full of sly humor and satiric commentary."[6] Trouser Press wrote that, "consistent with his work in the Del-Lords, the album has an easygoing urban roots-rock sound—'60s AM radio given a heartland kick, a taste of country and a little musical poetry."[7] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch praised "the outstanding drumming of Bobby Lloyd Hicks, who has rarely been given so many chances to power a band in the way that he and only a few others can do."[8]
Stereo Review determined that "Kempner gets a crateload of rapport and expertise from the Skeletons ... enabling him to come up with a modest rock-and-roll classic... The emphasis is on 'modest', as Kempner achieves the companionable naturalism that eludes Springsteen, Seger, and all the other well-intended overreachers."[9] The Chicago Tribune concluded that "Kempner heads deeper into back-to-basics rock territory, uses the trip for some personal exploration as well and, when you fear things might get a bit too heavy, tosses in some great old throw-away pop."[10] The State described Tenement Angels as "Fender guitars, Vibralux amps, biker boots and a pounding back beat." The Rocky Mountain News opined that "the musical/lyrical inspirations range from Booker T. and the MG's and the Beach Boys to AC/DC and Allen Ginsberg... It all works effortlessly."
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide deemed the album "bar-band magic."
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