Review: Rick Estrin and the Nightcats ‘The Hits Keep Coming’
By Hal Horowitz
It has been five years since we last heard from sartorial frontman/harmonica master Rick Estrin and his longtime compadres The Nightcats, but not much has changed. That’s far from a bad thing since this is one of the most talented, eclectic, and colorful groups in their genre. Many consider them the finest blues unit around and listening to this, their sixth winner (all on the Alligator label, as were nine previous sets when late guitarist Little Charlie led them), it’s easy to hear why.
Still, on The Hits Keep Coming, another in a series of double entendre titles—the word “hits” as a popular song and also pummeling from socio-political issues—some of the subject matter is more serious, even more somber than in the past. You’ll have to listen closely though because the music—the band’s usual eclectic combination of jump blues, rockabilly, surf and funky California rhythms—is so upbeat, rollicking and driving, many may not focus on what Estrin is singing about in his distinctive, sly Silly Putty voice.
The duel meanings run deep in the disc’s first single, “The Circus is Still in Town (The Monkey Song),” which on the surface seems like a playful rocker about, well, a monkey and a circus. But listen closely for a harrowing tale of drug addiction (“The monkey’s off my back but the circus is still in town”). Elsewhere, Estrin sings about taking a tumble in life in the Latin-tinged “Learn to Lose” (“It ain’t no use to try and blame nobody else…man I have been there myself”) yet when his pulsating Paul Butterfield-styled harp launches into a dramatic burst at 1:09, you’ll get lost in the force of his wind power. It’s followed by guitarist/producer Kid Andersen’s trebly twanging guitar solo.
Look no further than the title of “Finally Hit the Bottom” to understand that all is not well in the singer’s life after breaking up with his long-time love, although things seem to be improving (“I’m on my way back up again…I see that sun come sneaking in”). Estrin blows tense and tensile lines followed by a churchy organ solo capturing the unbalanced situation. A sprightly version of Muddy Waters’ “Diamonds at Your Feet” opens with the downbeat words “She got to get sick and die one of these days.” It’s another pairing of a darker concept with peppy music as the band locks into a brushed drum, jazzy shuffle.
The lyrical mood lightens on the rowdy “911” and the slower but just as jaunty “I Ain’t Worried About Nothin’” lets some relaxation take hold in the singer’s life as he “eats like a king straight out the microwave,” sung in Estrin’s distinctively slinky, wink-and-a-nod tone.
You won’t hear many blues acts cover Leonard Cohen, but Estrin and his crew turn “Everybody Knows” into a delicious, jazz-inflected Nightcats crawl complete with walking bass, Andersen’s acoustic guitar and surprising yet perfectly placed doo-wop backing vocals. Cohen’s twisty, witty, dry-humored lyrics (“Everybody knows that you’ve been faithful/Ah, give or take a night or two”) fit Estrin’s catlike, dryly comedic vocal approach perfectly. Tasty.
Fans of the Nightcats’ five earlier releases know to expect an instrumental emphasizing how gifted the quartet is. This album’s snazzy “Sack O’ Kools” is as perky and frisky as any of their previous ones. Each member takes the spotlight in a Booker T. and the MG’s-styled shuffle that shifts from blues to jazz and back displaying these guys’ well-oiled playing.
Things get freaky/funky on the closing “Whatever Happened to Dobie Strange.” Take a walk on the wild side with this Bootsy Collins-inspired vibe as Estrin talks the humorous tale of the titular dude.
It’s classic Nightcats leaving you with a goofy grin and the knowledge that this outfit, which balances dark and light concepts with remarkable ease, might have delivered their finest collection yet.
Keep those “hits” comin’.
“The Circus Is Still In Town”
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