Taddy Porter
Release Date: June 29, 2010 (digitally June 22, 2010)
Highlights: Whatever Haunts You, Big Enough, I Gotta Love, Long Slow Drag, Mean Bitch, Railroad Queen, King Louie
Taddy Porter. Now THIS is what Rock & Roll should sound like. The album opener “Whatever Haunts You” is a sonic opener of Black Sabbath proportions. Well, if Black Sabbath was from Oklahoma that is. Once the song kicks in, the first thing I’m blown away by is just how awesome this record sounds. It sounds like a wall of Rock & Roll awesomeness. Joe Shelby’s guitar tone is the bastard child of Tony Iommi and Joe Perry and Kevin Jones’ bass is full and fat and sounding like a bass should sound. Drummer Doug Jones’ drums sound larger than life and singer/guitarist Andy Brewer comes off as a cocky southern version of Paul Rogers with a bit of Chris Robinson for good measure. Taddy Porter are not afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves yet they don’t sound exactly like these bands. They have totally managed to forge their own sound by taking all their influences, grinding them up, putting them in a pipe and smokin’ it.
“Big Enough” kicks in with a literal one-two-three punch to the dome that literally made me close my eyes and shake my head while saying “Oh hell yes!” I must have listened to just the intro to that song 3 or 4 times before even going through the rest of the song. First single “Shake Me” was a great choice for a single because it seems to have that Rock & Roll Radio feel to it. Not that it’s a “commercial” song but that it just reminds me of the kind of song a classic rock band would be known for.
Song after song Taddy Porter just flows like an album that is way more mature and classic than it is. It’s hard to believe that these guys are in their 20s. They not only sound like but they look like somebody when back to 1977 and kidnapped these kids from a Foghat concert. The lyrics to their songs show a maturity to them and makes you feel like they have been around for 30 years or so. In the song “Gotta Get Back To You,” singer Andy Brewer sings “…lemme tell you what’s on my mind is you, and me back in the day. We were young, high and doing our thing.” I just love their ability to take a lyric like that and make it relevant across generational boundaries. It made me smile and think about myself 20 years ago yet for younger folks, “back in the day” could be 5 years ago. That ability to make a song relevant to all is the true sign of great songwriting in my opinion and Taddy Porter has done just that. The band brings it down a notch with the song “Long Slow Drag” which is the ultimate Rock & Roll break up song. The lyric “I took a long slow drag and told her it was Rock & Roll, so let it go.” Goddamn that is just flat out awesome!
Every song on this album has a mood and personality all it’s own. I’ve listened to this album 5 times straight through and each time I have found myself connecting with the songs in a different way. Yesterday as I drove around running errands I was feeling nostalgic so the songs “Long Slow Drag” and “Gotta Get Back To You” just had me smiling and nodding with approval. Today I was in a “Rock The Hell Out” mood so it was “Big Enough”, “Mean Bitch”, and “King Louie.” This is literally an album that has something for every day of the week, every mood of the day. It can be the soundtrack to your own Dazed and Confused or Almost Famous. It’s an album that makes me want to buy 5 copies and give them out to people who could really use a dose of kick ass, in your face, no frills rock & roll. Gee, can you tell I like this album?
These guys have managed to put together a collection of songs that makes the old sound new again. For fresh young ears that don’t remember REAL classic Rock & Roll music, Taddy Porter is a portal of sorts. They are a door that can lead an entirely new generation of people to music that they may have never given the time of day to. For old farts like myself, Taddy Porter is a reminder that not only is Rock & Roll alive and well but that bands can still make good Rock Music. My faith in the younger generation has been restored and it’s my pleasure to back these guys all that I can.
Put this one on, call your friends over, open up some beers and crank it up to “11”!
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