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Performance ★★★★ Sonics ★★★ They were strange days in the USA when NRBQ took the stage at the Ludlow Garage in early 1970. There could hardly have been a more progressive, less predictable band in our land, which had just taken a great big Nixonian right turn. But there they were, full of fire and fun in Cincinnati, just about the time Columbia put out their second and last LP for the label: Boppin’ the Blues, a collaboration with rockabilly daddy Carl “Blue Suede Shoes” Perkins. In those earliest days, and as they would continue doing for more than three decades, the Q lovingly and respectfully served up a gumbo of musical styles. Heck, the first song on their debut album was written by Eddie Cochran, the second by Sun Ra. So it’s not surprising that NRBQ was an anomaly onstage. Anchored by guitarist-songwriter Steve Ferguson, blue-eyed-soul singer Frank Gadler (both left the group in the early ’70s), and keyboardist Terry Adams, the Q would lay down a smokin’ version of Little Richard’s “Rip It Up” one minute, and in the next a doo-woppy cover of Billy Stewart’s 1965 hit “Sitting in the Park.” Blink and you might miss them then swing from Wilson Pickett to Roland Kirk. This was not hip eclecticism for its own sake. NRBQ have always been about stretching boundaries, and it’s probably why they’ve never achieved widespread popular success, despite releasing nearly three dozen albums, several on major labels. They’ve also always been about challenging themselves and their fans to think, as they reached for the musical outer limits. By the sound of it, the Ludlow Garage crowd got it. In his liner note, longtime Q cohort Chandler Travis writes, “They were shooting to play great music and teach folks what makes it great, and, oh yeah, have an absolute ball.” Well, you can hear it here in their bopping, upbeat version of Hank Ballard’s “Finger Poppin’ Time,” in the sweet but edgy harmonies in Ferguson’s original “When It’s Summertime in the Wintertime,” in Terry Adams’ inspired clavinet playing in the instrumental “Goofus,” and in Ferguson’s freakishly fast guitar solos adorning his perky “Flat Foot Flewzy.” Then, on Terry Adams’ “Kentucky Slop Song,” there’s some fired-up tenorsax/trombone battling by Keith Spring and Donn Adams, who together would soon become the Whole Wheat Horns. I can assure you of one thing: Neither here nor in anything else the Q ever did is there an ounce of self-indulgence. Though Ludlow Garage shouldn’t be the first NRBQ album in your collection (that distinction belongs squarely to Rhino’s two-CD Peek-a-Boo collection, one of my “Records To Die For” for 2003), this is an ear-opener—turns out there was a band playing this wide-open a spectrum of cool music back at the dawn of the ’70s. The real cool thing is that, in the years that followed, NRBQ got only better. Flash forward to 1982. NRBQ’s sturdiest lineup—guitaristsongwriter Al Anderson, drummer Tom Ardolino, Terry Adams, veteran bassist Joey Spampinato, and the Whole Wheat Horns (Ferguson, Gadler, and drummer Tom Staley are gone)—has been on a roll. Anderson, Adams, and Spampinato have become firstclass songwriters, and their songs are starting to be covered by such top-shelf artists as Bonnie Raitt and Dave Edmunds. The Q are more fun and less predictable onstage than ever, and their songs have taken a more melodic turn. The Derbytown: Live 1982 DVD puts you smack dab onstage with the band in Louisville, Kentucky. Though the camerawork is pretty basic, it’s a revelation even for a longtime fan—and back then, there was no band that I saw or liked more than the Q—to watch these guys work together and see how they could energize a club. They were still doing quirky covers—like Johnny Horton’s RECORD REVIEWS country hit “Sink the Bismark,” with Donn Adams’ off-color singing (think Country Dick Montana)—but there’s a feeling of great affection among the players. Anderson is a rock on the left side of the stage, an incredibly nimble guitarist and singer who can make a basic song like “12 Bar Blues” sound as if it contains the secrets of the universe. To his right is bassist Spampinato, who’s always reminded me of George Harrison. He writes and sings some of the band’s sweeter and simpler songs, such as “I Love Her, She Loves Me.” Terry Adams manhandles his Hohner Clavinet/Pianet Duo with reckless abandon. Before delivering a redemptive and soulful version of the Louvin Brothers’ “My Baby Came Back,” Anderson introduces Adams as “The Chairman of the Keyboard.” Then it’s up to drummer Ardolino to tie everything together. With the Q, just when a solo or interlude sounds as if it’s about to disintegrate, Ardolino and company rein it all in perfectly. At less than 43 minutes, Derbytown: Live 1982 doesn’t contain a lot of the catchier Q songs of that era—for instance, there’s no “Ridin’ in My Car” or “Me and the Boys”—but it’s great fun to hear them tear into another classic driving song, “Green Lights,” witness the smiles and winks exchanged on stage, and see all the members of the band taking turns at the mike. Like John, Paul, George, and Ringo, Al, Terry, Joey, and Tom all have distinct but hugely complementary styles and voices. But the bottom line is the playing and the songs, and it rarely got any more inventive and fun than this Q lineup in a club before a packed house. Kudos to Derbytown: Live 1982 for turning back the hands of time. —David Sokol jazz THE THREE TENORS Chris Byars, Ned Goold, Grant Stewart CHRIS BYARS: Photos in Black, White and Gray Chris Byars, tenor, alto, soprano sax; Sacha Perry, piano; Ari Roland, bass; Andy Watson, drums Smalls SRCD-0021.07 (CD). 2006. Luke Kaven, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 59:59 Performance ★★★★ 1 ⁄2 Sonics ★★★★ NED GOOLD: March of the Malcontents Ned Goold, tenor sax; Sacha Perry, piano; Neal Caine, bass; Charles Goold, drums Smalls SRCD-0019 (CD). 2006. Luke Kaven, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 76:24 Performance ★★★★ 1 ⁄2 Sonics ★★★ 1 ⁄2 GRANT STEWART: In the Still of the Night Grant Stewart, tenor sax; Tardo Hammer, piano; Peter Washington, bass; Joe Farnsworth, drums Sharp Nine SHP 1038-2 (CD). 2007. Marc Edelman, prod.; Joe Marciano, eng. DDD. TT: 60:25 Performance ★★★★ 1 ⁄2 Sonics ★★★★ 1 ⁄2 Why put these three albums together? Because Chris Byars, Ned Goold, and Grant Stewart are three of the best tenor-sax players you’ve never heard. They have other qualities in common. They all learned their craft at Smalls, the underground Greenwich Village club whose capacity is tiny and whose influence has been huge. They all sound like stylistic conservatives, with tones on the lighter side of the soft/hard tenor-sax spectrum. And each is more modern than he at first seems. Chris Byars, though 36, is spiritually at home in music from the middle of the last century, by such people as Lucky www.Stereophile.com, May 2007 125
An American Legend at CSA! For 55 years, from their laboratory in Binghamton, the people at McIntosh have been crafting audiophile components which are a benchmark for quality, precision and sonic excellence. They’ve continued to innovate and support new audio needs, while still honoring their legacy: Their MX-135 AV Control Center is a powerful tool to manage a high-end Home Entertainment system, while the tube-powered MA2275, an integrated amplifier, builds on their long reputation for superb stereo sound. CSA carries a full selection of McIntosh gear. Discover a new level of service, the best brands and an attentive, knowledgeable staff that loves music (and movies!) as much as you do. McIntosh MA2275 Amplifier 198 Bellevue Avenue • Upper Montclair, NJ 07043 973-744-0600 • www.csaaudiodesign.com ACCUPHASE • ARCAM • AYRE • B&K • B&W • BDI • BENZ • CLASSÉ • CINEMA TECH • CONRAD-JOHNSON • CRESTRON • DALI • DCS • DP DIGITAL PROJECTION • DRAPER • DYNAUDIO • ELAN • ESCIENT • ESOTERIC • FINITE-ELEMENTE • GRADO • GRAHAM • HARMONIX • HITACHI DIRECTOR SERIES • KOETSU • LAMM • MARANTZ • MARTIN LOGAN • MCINTOSH • MERIDIAN • MONSTER CABLE • MUSICAL FIDELITY • NILES • NOTTINGHAM ANALOG • PANASONIC PHONE SYSTEMS • PRO-JECT • PS AUDIO • REL • RICHARD GRAY • ROTEL • RUNCO • SALAMANDER • SENNHEISER • SHELTER • SHUNYATA • SILTECH • SME • SPEAKERCRAFT • STEWART FILMSCREENS • STRAIGHT WIRE • SUMIKO • TARGET • TOSHIBA • TRANSPARENT • VUTEC • WILSON AUDIO
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