Although he had made solid, workmanlike albums in the past,
Mr. Freeze is where all the cherries came up at once on
Gary Primich's musical slot machine. While his harp playing was never in dispute, his vocals on this outing finally find their own style, sounding for the first time comfortable, assured, and totally in the pocket. Kicking off with the high-octane shuffle "Bad Poker Hand" featuring
Mark Korpi's stylistic nod to
Brewer Phillips,
Primich contributes four of his own compositions to this 13-tracker while jumping on such stylistically diverse material as
Gene Ammons' "Red Top" and
Washboard Sam's "Easy Ridin' Mama," vaulting between subgenres with consummate ease. Other highlight tracks include a harp showcase on "You Came A Long Way From St. Louis" and the rumbling boogie of
Mark Korpi's "Slap You Silly." Featuring guest turns from the aforementioned
Korpi, bassist supreme
Sarah Brown,
Mark Rubin,
Gene Taylor, and acoustic slide man
Steve James along with
Gary's regular working band, there's a wide variety of real good stuff to enjoy here. If you were to pick just one album to start absorbing this harp blower's eclectic genius, this one would make a perfect calling card. ~ Cub Koda