Pittsburgh-based Joe Grushecky led the type of working class band that typified the nightclub scene of the 80s and 90s. Other bands, like Joe Mellencamp or Graham Parker and the Rumour, had similar blue collar styles, and it never does go out of style.
This two disc set is a reissue of Grushecky’s high water mark, an album produced by Bruce Springsteen, himself a master of the wrong side of the tracks style of blues rock. The team of Art Nardini/b, Jeffrey Simmons-Bernier Her/dr, Joe Pelesky/key and Bill Toms/g deliver music similar in mood and world vision as vintage Bruce Springsteen, with Grushecky’s earthy voice pleading out on “Labor of Love” and the urgent “What Did You Do In The War”.
The second disc includes a 1995 gig at home turf Pittsburgh’s Fat City, with Sprinsteen himself sitting in for most of the set, sounding right at home on “Dark and Bloody Ground”, and the streetwise “Chain Smokin’”. The passion is palpable, and the working class roots are showing well. A two drink minimum of blues rocking.