Horns naturally gravitate to Mitch Woods. Maybe the Technicolor threads he wears draw them in. Most likely, his tirelessly boogieing piano, along with the retroactive jump and swing it sparks, is the magnetic attractant. Evidently, saxophones can pick up the scent of a real good time. And can sniff out adrenaline, the very juice that Wynonie Harris, Smiley Lewis, Fats Domino and Amos Milburn thrived on in the 1940s and ’50s.
Hence, the beeline made straight for Happy Hour.
Sure enough, Woods’ 14th frothy album still refuses to unwind or relax ever since his Rocket 88s assembled in 1980 with a mission to rekindle the golden age when bands flexed a classy muscle. Their vigorous music, branded as “rock-a-boogie,” works up and down the proto-R&B tributaries that fed into rock-and-roll. Go-man-go! gusto springs eternal.
The Brooklyn-born singing pianist is on top of the world, swinging the blues by the tail, giving 13 career-spanning favorites a fresh coat of adrenaline as well as some snappy, new arrangements. “Boogie Woogie Bar-B-Que” and the sparkling “Amber Lee” are among those reaching back to 1984’s Steady Date debut. “Long, Lean and Lanky” takes off like a rocket. “Broke” spouts the kind of witty jive that kept Louis Jordan’s tongue twisted. “Shakin’ the Shack” speaks for itself. By strutting “Mojo Mambo,” Mitch tips his cobalt-blue fedora to the late Professor Longhair, a New Orleans rollercoaster disguised as a pianist. Miss “Hattie Green” is also a New Orleanian, readily distinguished by the piano’s lilting roll. Ultimately, “Cryin’ For My Baby” serves as the blue iceberg that manages to (momentarily) cool down the tempo enough for the piano to trickle Otis Spann-like teardrop notes and for the sax to slim down from typically burly to sympathetically brooding. Throughout, the content is entirely Mitch’s.
Plenty of opportunities to hear Woods’ extensive guest collaborations are out there. For example, 2015’s live Jammin’ on the High C’s onboarded Roomful of Blues, Coco Montoya and others, whereas 2006’s Big Easy Boogie convened the original members of the Fats Domino Band. For a bird’s-eye view, last year’s Friends Along the Way: Expanded Deluxe Edition cannot be beat as a quick way to get up to speed with the extent of Woods’ clout within the blues community, as the compilation overflows with fellow headliners such as John Lee Hooker, Van Morrison, James Cotton, Elvin Bishop, and on and on.
Happy Hour, however, busts back to simply the Rocket 88s. Just the five of them—including Kid Andersen, whose guitar solos are always there with a fistful of storming pizzazz—packing more than enough horsepower of their own to race the pulse and trigger a sock hop. Jitterbuggers, your ride is here: “Solid Gold Cadillac.”
So, as the all-hear-this bulletin goes: “Mr. Boogie’s Back in Town.” And that equates to having a ball. Because whenever and wherever these 50some minutes effervesce, it truly becomes a very Happy Hour.
Label: MoMojo
Release Date: 9/6/24
Artist Website: mitchwoods.com
Reviewed by Dennis Rozanski
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