SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HEATH GREEN & THE MAKESHIFTERS – HEATH GREEN & THE MAKESHIFTERS

Heath Green & The Makeshifters
Heath Green & The Makeshifters
Alive Records

There appears to be a big resurgence in “real music”, you know, no loops, no synths, no samples, and basic guitar driven music played by real players.  I, for one, welcome this current trend.  Perhaps we have Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats to thank for this, but the truth is this kind of music has been around since music began. But the bottom line here is, this is good rocking music and I welcome the return of blues harmonica.

Without this return to blues based rock and roll, this album might have been seen as dated and out of step, yet it sounds contemporary and at its best moments, timeless.  It has a quality to it that brings to mind the finer moments from Stax, or even Screaming Jay Hawkins.

Heath Green & The Makeshifters continue in this vein.  Straight ahead, blues based, hurting songs, played by a very talented group.  But then, that is what happens when you pay your dues.  Green has been playing clubs in his native Birmingham, Alabama  for over 15 years before landing a record deal and the time he and his band put in shows.  The band is tight and know their way around a rocking good tune.  Jason Lucia (13 Ghosts, Through The Sparks)  pounds the drums and provides the perfect rhythm backdrop for this gritty sound.  He is a highlight, especially in “Ain’t Ever Be My baby”.  The drumming rattles your teeth while Green growls the lyrics.  Greg Slamen (bass) and Jody Nelson (guitar and keyboards) round out the quartet.

Heath’s vocals is a very unique hybrid of Tom Waits and Leon Redbone, and his influences are more than obvious, but that is fine. He still carves out his own voice.  It also fits along beautifully with the music charging behind him.

This is a good album, being a debut record, it shows promise of this band.  These guys have done their homework and produced a listenable album.  Not all the songs work, and nor is it a perfect album, but it is good and one that will be played throughout the summer.

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