Earlier this year, W&H were effusive with praise when confronted by the swaggering, no-nonsense boogie constituting Jason & The Scorchers' guitarist Warner. E . Hodges' solo album. It came as part of a fierce blast of activity from the southern states which also included a fine, 2CD solo overview of Jason Ringenberg's impressive solo career since the Scorchers' heyday.
Six months on, fellow Southern gent DAN BAIRD'S eponymous album with his band HOMEMADE SIN soon makes it clear that said tornado of Southern-fried boogie has yet to blow itself out. You're probably well aware of Mr. Baird already, seeing as how he kicked a mighty hole in the mid-to-late 1980s with his seriously ass-kickin' buncha honchos The Georgia Satellites, but now he's returned with that band's rhythm section (bassist Keith Christopher and drummer Mauro Magellan) and a new guitarist: none other than Warner 'whaddya mean I've got a day off?' Hodges himself.
Consequently, if you've a terminal aversion to no-nonsense, Southern-style Hard Rock, then switch off now, because with Messrs. Baird, Hodges, Christopher and Magellan around, the chances of '..Homemade Sin' sounding like anything other than a wild, riff-happy collection of Good ol' boy rawk'n'rawl is extremely slim.
And this prognosis soon proves to be correct when '...Homemade Sin' kicks off with the wholesome, four-square rockin' of 'Damn Thing To Be Done'. Thing is, though, few people outside of Messrs. Wood and Richards understand how to elevate you to Telecaster heaven quicker than Baird and Hodges and when you factor in Michael Webb's Hammond organ touches and the regret heaped on by Baird's my-woman-done-gone lyrics, then you can't help but be caught up in the sheer thrill of it all.
Most of what follows continues steadfastly in the same vein, but really only the churlish could cavil. Songs like 'Runnin' Outta Time', Hodges' arrogant-as-fuck 'I Can Do Without You' and the Keith Christopher-growled 'She Dug Me Up' are formidable wall of sound affairs, owing as much to The Ramones as Tom Petty, while the bouncy 'Well Enough Alone' and the Creedence Clearwater-referencing 'Just Can't Wait' are so blue-collar you can almost feel the bottles smashing off the chicken wire.
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As with Hodges' solo album, changes of pace are few and far between. There's nothing remotely ballad-like, although the spangly guitars and superior harmonies of 'Lazy Monday' and the road-worshipping 'Two For Tuesday' (“I'm a little Jack Kerouac with a credit card”) both have a Byrds-y lilt about them, while - thanks to its' lunging basslines and Bo Diddley drum pattern - 'Cryin' To Me' could almost get away with being labelled 'funky.' They can enjoy slowing it down a little, too: witness the broody 'Crooked Smile', with its' lived-in vocals from Baird and Hodges' lengthy, Crazy Horse-esque solos and the searing 'I Know What It's Like' which is the very epitome of steely, bicep-bearing rock'n'roll.
Just in case we could possibly forget their origins, the album winds down with the classic, bar-room rockin' of 'Hellzapoppin'', where the Alabama references lurk like alligators in a cypress swamp. It's the perfect way to conclude an old-fashioned, but finely-honed Hard Rock album and while 'Dan Baird & Homemade Sin' can never be accused of re-inventing the rock wheel, the wheels they run on are laced and true. Don't be scared to hitch a ride in their vintage cadillac, y'all.
(http://www.myspace.com/thedanbaird)
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