The spine may simply read
68 Comeback, but the cover of their full-length debut is actually attributed to Monsieur Jeffrey Evans & the 68 Comeback, making it clear who really conducts this rockin' freight train of a band. Plus, only one song, the shambling "Tobacco Road, Part 2," is credited to the entire group. The rest of the compositions are mostly either covers or Evans originals. Not that anyone's complaining -- Evans (
the Gibson Bros.,
the Workdogs) is a legend in his own time. For this effort, the Memphis-based outfit also included Jack Taylor (
the Gibson Bros.), Darin Lin Wood (the Black Snakes),
Ross Johnson (Tav Falco's Panther Burns), and Dan Brown (
Royal Trux).
Mr. Downchild is a solid beginning -- or "comeback" -- for Evans in his new incarnation. If not quite spectacular, it holds up well to repeated spins, with the swampy "Bo Diddley 1969," the feedback-drenched "Richman, Richman," and the slide guitar-saturated lament "Greenback Blues" shining brightest. ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy