With the colorful life he’s lived, Big Al Lauro would be an excellent subject for one of those steamy, tell-all rock ’n’ roll-style autobiographies. Among the stories he could share, one would be what it was like to be country outlaw David Allan Coe’s drummer for six years. During that time Lauro played alongside guitarist Warren Haynes of future fame with the Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule. For a while, Lauro and Haynes had an occasional side project, The Unknown Blues Band, until Haynes relocated to Nashville circa 1996. At that point, Lauro rechristened the band as Big Al and the Heavyweights and released its debut That Ain’t Nice after that.
Eight albums later, Love One Another represents a sonic shift from the Heavyweights’ previous, straight-up blues platter, World Full of Trouble, released in 2018. Newest member, guitarist-vocalist Marcel Anton, wrote seven originals and cowrote another four, totaling 11 of these baker’s dozen tracks. As a vocalist, it would seem Anton was once a student of the Big Luther Kent style of singing with his full, throaty pipes. On some songs, like slow groovin’ “Too Cold,” Anton stretches his lines to the point where it seems humanly impossible. His guitar solos are melodically rich and tinged with euphoria, atypical of the contrived badass variety commonly heard in blues.
Yet, despite Anton’s sizable contributions on his first Heavyweights recording, it’s really a team effort. Besides his airborne rides on keys, Wayne Lohr contributed “Hurricane,” a ballad with the reassuring humanitarian outlook “We’ll get through this together.” Bassist Mark Parsons cowrote the cruising “Sweet Louise” with Lauro and wrote “Alright With Me.” Several tracks find the Heavyweights singing background vocals en force.
Stylistically the tunes run the gamut. “Everyone Needs Somebody” is a swamp funky hammer-down, while Parson’s swanky “Alright With Me” would appeal to swing dancers and lend itself well to a foreign-movie chase scene. “I Need a Fix” is more infectious than your ordinary shuffle because its beat is reversed, much like what Freddy King often did and Lou Ann Barton accomplished with her rendition of “Sugar Coated Love.”
Along the way, the Heavyweights surprise with the occasional knuckleball. “Underground” is a playful attempt at heavy metal evil with distorted, quasi-demonic vocals. “Zydeco Love” doesn’t sport an accordion, as the title might imply, but it does feature Gina Forsyth on fiddle. And speaking of star turns, Jason Ricci blisters his lip on three cuts while North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther Dickinson plays guitar on “Love One Another.”
Yet, the award for the most jovial track goes to “Wild Tchoupitoulas.” Yes, it’s probably a novelty tune with all its Louisiana metaphors but how can you beat such lines as “She’s a mean alligator,” and “She swings her tail and she likes to bite”? It’s a card the Heavyweights play only once because when your deck is this deep, you can put down a different one every time.
