My dad’s old ’49 Buick boasted of “Dynaflow,” which meant that the two speed automatic transmission could easily change speeds. This album by drummer and singer Big Joe Maher along with Tom “Mookie” Brill/b-voc, Kevin McKendree/org, and Yates Kendree-Robert Frahm-Erin Coburn/g is a V8 hummer that cruises the boulevard in style.
Big Joe’s got a grizzly voice and shouts it out well on boogie bluesers such as “Driving Wheel” and moans with glorious agony for “Two Years of Torture.” Brill is a bit more earthy at the mic, teaming with harmonies for a gospel bluesy “ 8 Men 4 Women” and frantic at voice and B3 on “Vibrate.” The B3 smokes on “Sleepy Joe,” the drums snap on shuffle boogies like “Go With the Flow” and the guitars wail on “Overdrive.” This one is made for hitting the streets!