Listening to the Beat Daddys (http://www.beatdaddys.com) is like gulping down a bottle of liquor on a hot summer night. They will kick you in the arse, slap you in the face, and then leave you wanting more. All those young metalheads who think they can rock you out of your seats will bow their heads in worship at the heady blues experience of the Beat Daddys.
Think the blues is daddy's music? You're wrong, kiddo. From the opening cut on "Five Moons," the scorching "Pale White Circle," the Beat Daddys will already have you tossed against the wall with electrifying, butter-melting licks; pounding drums; and tough-skinned, big-boned vocals a la Eric Clapton. The production on this song, and the rest of the album, flashes back to the crisp textures of late '60s-early '70s rock and roll. You can hear the thrilling punch of the percussion without any studio sweeteners to tame it for pop radio and the strangled yelp of the guitars with crystalline clarity. One can only imagine what this record would sound like on vinyl.
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For the first half of the album, the Beat Daddys do not give us time to breathe, injecting their sweaty blues inspirations with a delirious rock and roll fever. "Common Ground" and "Been There, Liked That" (wonderful title!) are exuberant toe-tappers. "Blues ain't just a sound," vocalist/guitarist Larry Grisham exclaims on "Common Ground," proving his point with the wounded emotions emanating from his voice.
What some may consider blues cliches - singing about the genre as a way of living, evil women - are actually genre trademarks. You either accept that and give in or you don't. Blues isn't about intellectual analysis; it's about depth of feeling. And the Beat Daddys know to express those feelings with heat and spine-tingling musical talent, from horniness ("Big Thighs") to sadness ("Where Is She").
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