New Orleans is a city of musical surprises. Let your ears lead you as you stroll down the street and alluring music drifts into your consciousness. I used to walk down Decatur Street on a late afternoon and be arrested at Margaritaville by Brint Anderson’s guitar playing. I could not walk past that place when Brint had the stage. Often the highlights of those solo performances were covers of songs by Earl King, who wrote a whole lot more than most people realize. I always wanted Anderson to do a solo acoustic album dedicated to Earl, but he wisely chose to put together a full band to record this wonderful tribute to King.
Anderson is just the man to put together an Earl King covers album. Not only did he play and hang out with Earl during his life, he also has spent two decades playing in George Porter Jr.’s Runnin’ Pardners band, and Porter is as close to an expert on King’s music as there is.
Anderson put together a truly great band for the session. Michael Lemmler, his longtime bandmate in the Pardners, handles the keys in spectacular fashion, turning in a great piano performance on “Big Chief” and another on “No City Like New Orleans” that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Bassist Jimmy Messa rolls the beat like a jump blues veteran and allows drummer Doug Belote to really power the groove. Anderson doesn’t play or sing exactly like King but that’s part of what makes this so great, because he’s studied and absorbed the nuances of King’s phrasing and intent so well that he’s assimilated them into his own style.
Anderson’s choice of material is equally brilliant, touching all the necessary bases—“Come On, Let the Good Times Roll,” “Make A Better World,” “Trick Bag” and the Guitar Slim classic “The Things I Used to Do”—but reaching down for deep tracks like “Medieval Days” and “Handy Wrap” that show the diversity of King’s material.
Most of all, though, the vibe of the session just works perfectly in conjuring up the strange magic of Earl King’s songwriting. “Rough Spots” and “Street Parade” roll by like a home movie of a good night on the town. “I’ll Take You Back Home” stops you in your tracks with its beautiful sentimentality. The horn section adds just the right touch and co-producers Jake Eckert and Jeff Watkins bring great backing vocals to the choruses at their home turf of the Rhythm Shack Studio, where this masterpiece was recorded.
