GRITZ: Music/CD Reviews

Editor's Note: GRITZ had already published a review of this fine album, but we just couldn't resist running this "second opinion," written by staff writer Mitch Lopate.- MBS

After I laid this out for a listen, I am more convinced than ever that there is a kind of natural affinity of the coordinates of points South that creates material this good. A kind of a home-grown, musical Fertile Crescent has been nurtured for all these years for the industry - it must be the soil, or perhaps just good karma, but the talent is just getting better each year. There has always been good news available on the circuit from Nashville (which these men call home), Memphis to Muscle Shoals and over two steps to Georgia, but now it's more exciting as new artists are taking themselves into distribution. With that in mind, these guys will melt the winter freeze in your home, and keep you in a groove that's so deep it's subterranean. "Satisfied" ain't the word - I'm celebratin'!

Just dive right in to this mix, because it's a split deck: either a hot, sweaty trek across a barren blues wasteland of pain and misery, or aged-in-the-wood vintage rhythm and boogie. Rick Moore's grainy, hoarse vocals sound like a made-to-order mesh between Dr. John's gravel and Gregg Allman's soulfulness to lead the way, and Sam Stafford comes up with incredible, lion-sized claws of flesh-tearing lead and slide guitars or deliberate, muted runs. There's stormy-nights-in-the-woods anguish that follows like a bad dream from Joe Warner's B-3, only to shimmer like a rainbow when the clouds are gone; the pounding hammers of Tim Hinkley's piano fall and jump like a gymnast's routine, and the rhythm section of Nick Buda on drums, Jerry "Snake" King on bass, and Will Rhodarmor on harp send down some dangerous rockslides without any warning. Some special friends are also here: Jimmy Hall hoots briefly on sax and meets Doug Moffit's horn and Wayne Jackson's trumpet and arrangements, Jack Pearson lends a hand with lead licks on a tune, and Jimmy Nalls takes time for rhythm guitar on some cuts.

I always look for mojo to get things into circulation, and I found a heaping supply (on my favorite tracks): "Dark Before Daylight" has that slow burn that I crave, "Memphis Stripper" and "She's Allright" are gonna be banned from my wife's ears before she gets the wrong idea (and spoils my fantasies) about Southern women, and "Sell My Monkey" whips a slide guitar (disguised as a cat-o-nine-tails beating) behind a cruisin' shuffle. However, the devil's gonna getcha when Albert King's "I Wanta Get Funky" comes through and claims your soul. There is also some great gospel here with "Hello Darkness," a New Orleans stroll with a "Good Man Gone Bad," and the best suggestion I've heard in years: "Take It Down to Memphis." Just tell 'em Mr. Lucky sent you - your ticket has been waiting at the gate.

Make yourself a New Year's promise: you will make all efforts, superhuman or otherwise necessary, to see these guys play, and while you're at it, insist that this CD is included in the show. I'll tell my missus that I'm working late that night, and we can celebrate together afterwards. Guaranteed we'll be "satisfied"!

-Mitch Lopate