Wildcat O’Halloran Band’s latest album Here Lies A Fool is an interesting and entertaining exercise. Its cover art features a drawing of a gravestone reading Here Lies A Fool with an electric six string guitar jammed into the ground in front of that marker.
The Wildcat band show their affinity for blues, jumping right into this album with B.B. King’s “Blind Love.” O’Halloran’s low tenor drawl and greasy guitar licks flavor it well. Emily’s Duff’s saxophone turn on the main melodic theme makes it more seductive. Jerry Jeff’s bass guitar work locks into drummer Chet Pasek’s sly backbeat, giving this a hip, motivational groove. All of these elements come together to show this band still has the ability to remain tight and colorful.
”40 Days,” by Bernard Ross, gets the full Wildcat O’Halloran Band treatment here. Duff’s slow, sensual sax lines color this one sexy. O’Halloran’s electric guitar chord progression is like the pole Duff’s saxophone melody wraps itself around, steady and compelling. When he plays his melodic phrase, O’Halloran greasy smooth run pours gravy over the potatoes, a rich flavoring that finds a good home above the deep, rich rocking chair groove.
Duff is instrumental to this band’s rendition of the James Brown popularized “Living In America.” She keeps the rich, soul stirring horn sound flowing, filling this song out nicely. O’Halloran and his backing vocalist keep the chorus lifted, lofty, plenty of voice to fill the open space with that familiar hook. Siiru and Pasek maintain a danceable groove while the upper registers have fun with the arrangement.
O’Halloran’s penned title track “Here Lies A Fool” makes for a whimsical take on the world wary songwriter. This songwriter sums up life’s misfortune with wit. It helps that his chords progressions keep it funky before his lead guitar break gives off some rock and roll sparks. The listener has got to love it when Duff chimes with her intervals of sax puffs, light but full, a playful take on the main theme.
“Coltrane At The Bar,” another O’Halloran original, combines a hip electric guitar jive and a cool, breezy sax melody. The two instruments dovetail each other with fine results. Duff makes one picture sexy women dancing inside a speakeasy. O’Halloran then chimes in with his spiky riffs, furthering the hip shaking allure. When the two upper registers play in union an even greater sense of passion ensues.
O’Halloran’s plaintive, cynical “Buy A Dog” is accompanied by a fine lilting groove that moves it an appropriately jaunty pace. It lays the perfect foundation for O’Halloran to unfurl his no use for a friend wariness. He also unleashes a grinding assertion on his guitar that puts more muscle into his message.
This band takes the traditional “Outskirts” and makes it its own. O’Halloran picks some soulful tender notes, accompanying his opening vocal sprawl. If the O’Halloran guitar work isn’t enough, Ms. Duff emits puffs of fetching sax lines, just enough horn play to make her a seriously sublime presence here. Her notes eventually become flintier, making a fine dance partner to the more accented O’Halloran guitar picking. The rhythm section, classy as hell, keep this all anchored with a sly, in the pocket groove.
O’Halloran and company, with their undying commitment to rearranging popular music into their albums, tackle Luther Vandross’s “Jump To It.” This one makes good with O’Halloran’s cool sense of where to put emphasis on the lyrics, just when the words spin with the groove. His call and response with his backing singers makes the chorus catchy, lively, fun, and even soulful. O’Halloran also grinds out some sparks on his guitar, using his ax to put a fine edge on things. Siiru and Pasek put another of their motivational grooves beneath the upper registers, enough backbeat and knobby low end to keep the dancers dancing.
The band has even more fun with their cover of “See See Rider,” turning the old Elvis Presley Las Vegas staple into a cool, jumpy rocker. The rhythm section keep the groove pumping with plenty of fills and a thick bass run. Hopping and bopping saxophone livens things up nicely and O’Halloran plays sweet intervals that give more lift.
Close out track “Spoonful” returns O’Halloran to his great love of blues. Trading lead vocals with Merrill Shepard provides a sexier result, his ruggedly handsome voice, her sultry edge having chemistry. The tension builds slowly but surely as O’Halloran showcases his acoustic blues guitar skills, greasy slide switching off with gritter notes. Nice touch.
The Wildcat O’Halloran Band continue to be successful making good albums by combining their blues inflected originals with bluesy interpretations of popular songs. They also lock into solid grooves while playing with chemistry but leaving each other room for cool instrumental flourishes when time and space allows. Eva Cappelli and Lici Baird sing backing vocals with Shepard to good result, creating a more three dimensional sound.
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