Mr. Nick And The Dirty Tricks have dropped their first official debut CD. Titled Oh Wow! after the opening track, the disc is a wow of original material by Mr. Nick himself as well as some tastefully selected blues standards. This is a fun album that is sure to be a favorite of people with different tastes.
Nick and his Dirty Tricks play a 1940s and 1950s style of blues that could probably go over well with people who also love oldies rock and roll from the 1950s. Mr. Nick has the perfect voice and delivery for this kind of material. His voice is rich with a timbre that speaks of another time in blues and rock and roll. When you hear him sing, you can picture him belting into one of the old fashioned microphones from the 1950s while being filmed in black and white for the Ed Sullivan Show.
A cover of “Oh Wow!” by Roy Montrell and Robert “Bumps” Blackwell opens this collection with Mr. Nick in fine form. He belts this one out with gusto. His voice expands on the chorus, grabbing your attention with its unabashed excitement. His Dirty Tricks, guitarist Gus Carlson, upright bass player Ted Bukowski, and drummer Rick Rousseau keep it tight and in the pocket as they travel round the curves of this song. Guest musician Bruce Bears keeps a rollicking piano line traveling through, and guest saxophone players Mark Earley and Jimmy Laitley add a lot of blaring color with their deep down cool solos.
Swinging horns pull you right into Mr. Nicks and Gus Carlson’s original “Look, But Don’t Touch.” Mr. Nick shines here with his speedy delivery on his way to the chorus. Meanwhile, The Dirty Tricks rock it with Carlson’ nifty take on the rock and roll techniques of the 1950s. Bukowski’s upright bass gets a work out, and you can hear those knobby, solid as wood, low end notes giving the song a respectable bottom. Scott Aruda, who arranged the horns on this one, puts in a solid effort on trumpet while Earley and Laitley make the song swing with their exuberant sax work.
Mr. Nick’s “Best Thing” is an involving slow dance song. His voice is gentle, mellow, smooth emotive cool. He’s got something to express and express it he does with his soulful, self-restrained delivery. Mr. Nick packs more emotional punch when he keeps the emotions simmering just below the surface rather than belting it out. Producer Curtis Salgado adds a lot of sensitive texture to the vocal with his backing voice. Carlson chimes in with the hippest thick guitar phrase, dripping swaggering cool. The rhythm section fills it up with a fulsome groove, and Rousseau’s drum stick on the rim is an appropriate subtle touch. Horns flavor things up here, interjecting their wriggles of engaging melodies.
“Worn Out” finds Mr. Nick back to his belty ways. He puts his personal oomph into this one, letting the words flow out of him with only a brief rest at the end of each line. Carlson rips it up with his rippling guitar line while the rhythm guys keep this deep. The piano line gives it a fun ragtime sense while the horns again make it swing. The way every instrument comes together with pristine clarity is another reason to take your hat off to Mr. Salgado.
“Stripper” is a true crowd pleaser. From its barbershop opening to the barrelhouse piano rolls to the thumping groove to the suggestive horns, “Stripper” is going to be linked to Mr. Nick for sometime. He wrote this tale about dating a stripper, and he seems to be speaking from experience. The screaming horns underneath Mr. Nick’s vocal are the balls. This song will probably do for The Dirty Tricks what “Centerfold” did for the J. Geils Band, Mr. Nick will likely send this out to national and college radio.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ tune “Little Demon” gets an assertive, snappy treatment. Mr. Nick has a way of paying out those quick, clever lines that keeps them smoking. Earley’s tenor sax melody is hot and on the money, and Carlson presses out those funky old timey notes out with an ear for vintage sounds.
Carlson contributes the track “Exquisite Taste,” and he lets his guitar do the talking, snappy, brittle notes that move, jump, and shimmy through the melody line. Junior Watson is along for the ride here and he puts in his own calling card of hipster appeal with notes that tap dance over the groove.
Covering the Rudy Toombs tune “I’m Shakin,’” Mr. Nick does his hip thing again, reaching into the lower end of his range on these shout-sung vocal lines. As well as he handles these vocal techniques, Mr. Nick remains the real deal. He doesn’t settle for gimmicky attention getting methods but rather puts heart and soul into something that always rings with authenticity. You can feel a very human person behind these missives of love, hurt, and misadventure.
“Hot Damn” is one Mr. Nick co-wrote with a writer credited as G. Sibley. His chorus with Carlson is fulsome and warm, and the Junior Watson guitar solo is like a blessing from above. The guitarist just glides in with his scratchy guitar notes. Barrelhouse piano rolls and that bopping rhythm section also keep your ears glued. Listen to Bukowski’s thick run of notes and you’ll hear one fine electric bassist.
Mr. Nick And The Dirty Tricks close out their fabulous disc with a barrelhouse cover of Bobby Womack’s blues-rock classic “It’s All Over Now.” Mr. Nick shares the lead vocal duties with the inimitable Salgado. The two put out world class performances that will seal the deal with fans of this kind of music.
Producers Salgado and Bears have captured the vintage sound of Mr. Nicks And The Dirty Tricks like an airtight document. This band and their guest players have honed these originals and standards to perfection. These tracks have both the essence of the time period the band draws its inspiration from and the high caliber talent needed to keep everything on the level of art.
