BLACK KEYS
The Moan (Alive)
Reviewed by Alan Wright

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A four song EP by this righteous two-man blues combo. The title track is a previously unreleased tune that sounds like a long-lost Howlin' Wolf outtake. Believe it or not, I actually read a review of this EP recently where it was slagged off because the title track sounded "like some terrible Howling Wolf song or something." How someone could consider the work of the Wolf to be "terrible" is beyond me, and makes me wonder why that person would want to listen to this in the first place! That said, I think it's a great tune. An alternate version of "Heavy Soul" from their debut CD follows. Then there's two covers: paying homage to their hometown, they do a totally revamped, blues version of the Stooges' "No Fun," with a cool fuzzed-out bass solo. The second cover is a different take of "Have Love, Will Travel" than the one of their Thickfreakness album, it's rawer, a tad shorter, and I think a superior take. Very cool!

[Pick this up at www.alive-totalenergy.com.]

© 2004 - Alan Wright