Review: GA-20 ‘Orphans’
By Hal Horowitz
By any measurement, it has been a hectic few years for GA-20. Since the two guitar/drum (bass-free) trio burst out of Boston’s blues scene with 2019s frills-free debut, the band has gone through a major reconstruction.
First drummers changed, but co-founding guitarist/singer/songwriter Pat Faherty leaving to form Canyon Lights was a major shakeup. That left lone initial member Matthew Stubbs to recruit singer/guitarist Cody Nilsen, maintaining the group’s name and mission; specifically, creating unvarnished blues heavily influenced by Hound Dog Taylor, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Howlin’ Wolf and other legends of the genre whose sound was and remains raw and real. All this upheaval within five years would sink many other bands.
But after 2023s ‘Live in Loveland,’ the “new” trio toured and released a handful of singles, all covers, collected on this eight track, 23 minute EP. It’s a holding pattern until the unit can create fresh material in their tenacious rocking/blues style. But since the quality and arrangements of these mostly obscure sides are so rugged, it’s a worthy addition to GA-20s slim catalog.
Little did they realize when they recorded an instrumental of Sam & Dave’s immortal “Hold On, I’m Coming” it would serendipitously pay tribute to the passing of the song’s guitarist Steve Cropper. That adds more gravitas to an already imaginative interpretation where Cropper’s part is played on lap steel for this punchy version. It’s also the only track that adds organ and bass to the basic three-piece. Whether that portends a further group change we’ll have to see, but these results are impressive.
The set kicks off with a rock ‘em-sock ‘em burst of Billy Boy Arnold’s “Cryin’ & Pleadin’” (often known as “I Wish You Would”) that, like all these cuts, captures the essence of rollicking blues which has been the core of GA-20s approach. Nilsen’s voice is clean and clear but, as you can imagine, never slick.
His singing on Elmore James’ thumping “Stanger Blues” is a gripping acknowledgment of that icon’s gritty, soulful music. “Sometimes I wonder, do my baby know I’m here?” he sings like a sanctified Rory Gallagher over a roaring riff you’ll immediately recognize as one of the building blocks of James’ compelling attack. At just three and a half minutes it’s the longest selection, but frustratingly fades out when things are heating up.
Little Walter’s “My Baby Sweet” gets a terse, surging revision as the guitar hits chilling treble notes that burrow straight into your spine. Lonnie Mack’s appropriately titled “Chicken Pickin’” ramps up the tempo with the disc’s second non-vocal piece, this one grabbing a few Freddie King-motivated licks to honor Mack’s somewhat lesser appreciated contribution to blues.
Many forget how bluesy James Brown was before he became the Godfather of Soul. So it’s encouraging that GA-20 rips into his “I Don’t Mind,” a tough, tight, tense nugget they excavate and revive, featuring some of Nilsen’s finest vocals. And we often don’t recognize the immense influence Ike Turner had on blues. That’s rectified by the outfit charging into his rough, driving shuffle “Just One More Time” like they wrote it.
Tom Waits might have gotten to the ‘Orphans’ title before GA-20, but these crackling performances make for inspired listening to help satiate us until their next album of originals.
“Stranger Blues”
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