When
GA-20
released 2019's
Lonely Soul
, their debut long-player for
Colemine
, their loose, raw, high-energy approach to Chicago blues made a fan of
Brucer Iglauer
, founder of the Windy City's
Alligator Records
, the world's premier modern blues label. He reached out to sign them but was disappointed to discover they already had a deal. Guitarist
Matt Stubbs
, a fan of
Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers
since his teens, suggested a compromise.
Alligator
was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the label's first release,
Taylor
's self-titled debut album.
Stubbs
suggested this tribute as a cooperative project between his band and both labels.
's lineup --
and slide guitarist/vocalist
Pat Flaherty
and
Tim Carman
on drums -- mirrors the
Houserockers
exactly.
researched the band's gear and dug deep into their recordings. They selected ten tunes written or closely associated with
.
The set opens with "She's Gone," the swampy first cut from 1971's
.
's version offers a midtempo groove with a pronounced, clattering snare shuffle, low-end distorted guitar, and
Flaherty
preaching the blues convincingly over the top of a razor-wire slide attack. It offers proof enough that these cats aren't interested in reinterpreting this music so much as just playing it. "Let's Get Funky" is maniacally driven by
Carman
's double-time snare choogle, and a mean, wrangling slide riff underscored by a fat, filthy, rhythm guitar vamp. "Sitting at Home Alone" reveals the deep, lasting influence of
Elmore James
on
alike. It's a slow, testifying blues with barely contained distortion that provides bedrock for stellar interplay between
's lead fills and the band's breaks-laden 12-bar progression.
James
is echoed again later when the band offers a stellar read of his "It Hurts Me Too," a nightly entry in the
' setlist. The instrumental "Phillips Goes Bananas" (titled after
' guitarist
Brewer Phillips
) and "Give Me Back My Wig" best illustrate the swagger and strut of
's gritty approach. They are the very best examples of "genuine house rockin' music" here, and are virtually guaranteed to get anyone with a pulse onto the dancefloor.
"See Me in the Evening" is a midtempo stroller driven by
' unshakeable yet spasmodic guitar boogie. "Sadie" is a sultry groover with
's grainy vocal at its most expressive riding atop
's shuffle; it buoys the lyric while
provides the low-down vamp that binds the tune to earth, even as the slide threatens to take it over the rails. Though just a shade over two minutes, closer "Hawaiian Boogie" is another riotously happy house rocker;
' rhythm riff drunkenly shambles across
's clattering beat while
unleashes the full power of his slide as a lead and percussion instrument.
Try Itâ?¦You Might Like It!
is a stellar second effort from
. They get the spirit and the sound right here in delivering enough sweaty, raucous, grooves to fuel a rent party all night long. ~ Thom Jurek