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| Hobby Forum Index » Music - Reviews » CD Review: The Road Hammers "Blood Sweat & Steel"... |
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 Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:00 am |
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The Road Hammers "Blood Sweat & Steel" (Montage)
Like their labelmate Andy Griggs, The Road Hammers play a nitro-
boosted brand of funky modern country rock that's drawn in part from
the Muzik Mafia stylings of Big & Rich. The group's playing and
production is solid, and their vocal harmonies are tight, but what
really provides distinction is their slate of blue collar truckin'
tunes. But unlike Dale Watson's "Truckin' Sessions" this isn't a
throwback to earlier truckin' sounds, and the group's originals aren't
your daddy's lonely songs of haunted, pill-popping, one-arm tanned
long-haul truckers. Instead, the band lives up to its name with
swaggering, full-throttle performances of originals and tunes borrowed
from the pens of John Rich, Chris Knight, Jerry Reed and Lowell
George.
George's "Willin'" is one of several genre classics reprised here. The
Road Hammers' version of "East Bound and Down," reflects the hammy
spirit of Jerry Reed's version for the film "Smokey & The Bandit," and
a terrific rocked up take on the Del Reeves hit "Girl on the
Billboard" hangs on to its country roots with pedal steel and a twangy
guitar solo. Less well known is Chris Knight's "The Hammer Goin'
Down," which was featured in the Patrick Swayze film Black Dog, and
sung here more as a ballsy response to a challenge than a desperate
response to a difficult situation. It works both ways, though it's
more emotionally charged in Knight's earlier take. The group's
originals include the album's eponymous declaration of the road
warrior's life, the upbeat two-stepping travelogue "Nashville Bound,"
the gear-jamming "Overdrive," and the slinky '70s-styled "Keep On
Truckin'."
This U.S. debut LP borrows ten tracks from the group's initial
Canadian release and adds three newly recorded tracks: "Workin' Hard
at Lovin' You," "I Don't Know When to Quit," and "I've Got the Scars
to Prove It." The first of three, written by John Rich, is rife with
braggadocio, while the last provides a rare moment of introspection in
which a hellraiser reflects on the rough way he's lived his life. Much
as 1960s trucker country reiterated 1940s and 1950s themes in the then-
current musical idiom, it was only a matter of time until the time-
tested subject caught up to Nashville's current sound. The Hammers do
a nice job of mixing in a few chestnuts, insuring there's something
here for both modern country fans and those weaned on the trucker
tunes of the '60s and '70s. [(c)2008 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com] |
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