New album: Hot Lunch
Artist: Hot Lunch
Label: Teepee Records
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
It’s a sad reality, but mainstream rock and roll is as dead as a bag of hammers. The old school bands that can still get it done can’t get airplay because they’re old, and any young band with an ounce of vitality can’t get airplay because they’re not already well known.
The only way for a new band to get any backing is to play mandolins and to dress like they just came from Tom Joad’s funeral. Guys with electric guitars and Orange amps that go to 11 have gone the way of the jazz musicians: They exist, but you may have to go on an Indiana Jones-esque trek to find them. Thankfully, Teepee Records — the label that brought us Earthless and Aqua Nebula Oscillator — has brought the band Hot Lunch to the surface.
Fused together with shards of the bands Parchman Farm, The Fells and Mensclub, Hot Lunch generates fuzzed out rock with the energy of punk. Frontman Eric Shea’s thick, unsteady vocal style is reminiscent of Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott, while Aaron Nudelman (guitar), bassist Charlie Karr and drummer Rob Elper kick out epic garage jammage in the tradition of the MC5 and Blue Cheer.
Recorded on 2-inch tape to capture that analog glow, the “Hot Lunch” album isn’t nearly as subtle as a dump truck plummeting down the side of an erupting volcano. Album opener “Handy Denny” is the type of ditty Black Sabbath would have put down in 1970 if it were a skate/punk band. All the requisite aggression is here, but these guys can actually play, albeit with the proper dose of abandon.
“She Wants More” and “Monks on the Moon” are the kind of heavy-groove riff rock that fans of Kyuss have been longing for. The album’s biggest curve ball is a blistering cover of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s “Knife Edge” (yes, it works). Any band that can cover a prog classic and make it simmer deserves a spot at the table, but these guys seem to be having so much fun, that they’d do it whether you like it or not.
Hot Lunch will never do Maroon 5 level business, but thank God the band exists. If you’re even mildly interested in keeping true rock alive, pick up a copy of this album and help the guys keep the lights on.
Classic album: Hot Tuna
Artist: Hot Tuna
Label: RCA
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
The band Hot Tuna began as a side project for Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitar/vocals) and Jack Cassidy (bass). Their 1970 debut album (recorded the previous year) is a live recording of a show the duo performed at a Berkeley area coffee house, free of the building drama and doom that would soon knock the Airplane off course.
The spotlight tended to focus on vocalists Grace Slick and Marty Balin within the confines of Jefferson Airplane, but Hot Tuna proved to be a great showcase for the talents Kaukonen and Cassidy. Consisting mostly of blues standards with a couple of Kaukonen originals thrown into the mix, the debut album from Hot Tuna isn’t incredibly exciting, but what’s there is expertly executed.
Intimate and full of charm, the actual recording is a nearly fascinating time capsule of the flickering West Coast vibe of the late 1960s. The crowd is warm and receptive, but even the quiet spots between songs have a heaviness about them. With the drug casualties mounting and the Altamont tragedy looming, it seemed that Kaukonen and Cassidy needed to hit the reset button and exchange the flower power for the eternal rock that is the blues.
The interplay between Kaukonen’s acoustic guitar work and Cassidy’s fluid electric bass is even more stunning in this setting than in their main gig with the Airplane. Without multiple vocalists to contend with, the duo breathes life into standards by the likes of Jelly Roll Morton (“Don’t Leave Me Here,” “Winin’ Boy Blues”) and Leroy Carr (“How Long Blues”). The diamond of the set — a take on the Rev. Gary Davis classic “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” — makes the hippy anthems about rabbits and flowers seem a bit rickety by comparison.
Hearing the clink of empty beer bottles from either the bar or audience during “Uncle Sam Blues” is proof positive of the evening’s laid back feel. The only negative aspect of the album is the similarity of much of the material, no matter how soulful and skilled the playing is. A few of the performances are interchangeable, but at the time this was a side project, so it’s no immortal sin.
The album closes with the Kaukonen original “Mann’s Fate,” which is the most exciting performance of this set. The fiery interplay between Cassidy and Kaukonen captured here most certainly made its way to the ears of Dave Matthews when he started to set up shop. An entire album of material as strong as “Mann’s Fate” would have matched or even eclipsed the duo’s work with Jefferson Airplane.
“Hot Tuna” isn’t a revelatory debut, but it is a solid one that led to greater future works.
Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase books, music and Kanye West ‘Leggo My Ego’ building blocks at jondawson.com.