True blue American roadhouse rock & roll, the kind that seldom finds its way into the real world, is a sound impervious to trends and demographics. It's the sound of a million nameless bands throwing down nightly, utilizing the signposts created by Lonnie Mack, Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top to create music for an audience steeped in barbecue and warm beer who like it rough, direct and honest. As roadhouses become sports bars and boogie bands get replaced by bad karaoke singers, our brethren in Europe keep the flag a-flying by making a cult hero out of Michigan roadhouse warrior Michael Katon. While far from a household name in America, this is actually Katon's fifth album; the wallop he brings to this outing makes it a seamless thread running back to his debut in 1986. Tracks like "Yeah. But We Can Boogie" and "Rockin' In The Promised Land" say it all in their crude barroom splendor, while titles like the opening "Bo Bo Bump," "Been There Done That," "Rock & Roll Redneck Mamma Jamma Honkin' Fool," "Attack Of Badness," "The Man From Hell," and "Cruise-Nite USA" are self-explanatory in their beyond basic message. Katon's guitar work is loud, brutal and in your face every step of the way on this record, one of the fattest I've ever heard on disc. No mere Stevie Ray wannabe, Michael Katon is a true roadhouse blues 'n' boogie man, steeped in tradition with a eye directly on the future.
© Cub Koda /TiVo