Karl Denson doesn’t have the largest of fan bases. But the loyalists supporting his band, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, are voluble and knowledgeable. When Denson announced plans to perform the Rolling Stones’ album “Sticky Fingers” for a recent tour, some fans were not sure of his intentions.
“I’ve had a few fans who have known me years who have said, ‘I was completely confused by this,’ ” said Denson, who will play “Sticky Fingers” in its entirety Feb. 11 at Mr. Small’s Theatre in Millvale.
Dig a little and the similarities between Denson’s original music and the Stones’ opus begin to emerge. Notably, the grooves that Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the rest of the band laid down on “Sticky Fingers” are right in Denson’s power alley of original music, which is nothing if not groove-oriented.
“I was always a big ‘Brown Sugar’ fan as a kid,” Denson said. “I always loved that song, just the concept of it. We started doing ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’ about a year ago, and I fell in love with that, too. When we started looking at records, we chose that one because of those two tunes.”
The song that most colors Denson’s approach to “Sticky Fingers” arguably is the one that is the least familiar to casual fans. “Sway,” the second track on side one, is a slow-paced, bluesy vamp that Denson said was “the first song that jumped out at me when we decided on the record. For some reason, I really fell in love with that tune.”
Denson also pointed to the tracks “Moonlight Mile,” “Wild Horses” and “Sister Morphine” as departures for his band because of their slower tempos. “Wild Horses” especially was challenging because “it’s a little more country than we naturally are,” he said with a laugh.
What was most problematic was how the Stones made music that sounds so effortless.
“I think the simplicity of the record was the biggest problem, learning to play that simply,” Denson said. “But it’s simplicity at its highest level.”
What makes the concerts work, however, is a wild card. Guitarist and singer Anders Osbourne is so essential to re-creating the music of “Sticky Fingers” that two concerts earlier this year were canceled when he was unavailable.
“Anders’ voice is the biggest deal,” Denson said. “For me to sing the whole record — it would be fine, I could do it — but it adds so much more to have his voice because he’s such a lion in there. I come out and do my thing, I sing the first three tunes, and Anders comes and it’s just like OK, let’s switch gears. He adds another element to the show that would be missed, maybe more by us than the audience.”
Karl Denson, with guest Anders Osbourne, will perform the Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers" in its entirety at 8 p.m. Feb. 11 at Mr. Small’s Theatre, Millvale. Visit www.mrsmalls.com or www.karldenson.us for more information.
