Singer/guitarist Mitch Grainger delivers the same songs, in the same order, on two albums here. As Marshall McCluhan famously said, the medium is the message, as one album has an electrified team of Arlan Schierbaum/keys, Deacon Marrquin/dr and Ed Maxwell/b while the other album is Grainger all alone and unplugged with his guitar and harmonica.
Both alluring in their own ways. Electrified, Grainger and organgrinder Shierbaum are in a rockabilly mood on “Plug It In”, swampy on a gritty “Strong Woman” and shuffle through a boogie night on “Shake It Up” and “That’s Alright”, with some slithering slide work on th dark “Let Me In”.
The acoustic is more back porch in mood, and the picking is easy on “Tht’s All Right” and “Let Me In”. His slide works well on the easy pace of “Mississippi” and his harmonica replaces the keyboards well, wailing on “Strong Woman” and ominous for “Honey Bee”. Still, this guy is all cozy and casual as on “Rock The Boat” and the fun calypso’d “Plug It In”. Good dressed up or down.