(Modern Electric Blues) The Nighthawks - Damn Good Time! - 2012, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

The Nighthawks, a rootsy, bluesy hard-driving band out of the D.C. area, is well-known to Burgh blues lovers, and lots of other people.
They've been around since harpman Mark Wenner put them together 41 years ago. The rest of the band has chnaged, but Mark has not, and neither has the band's tough, no-nonsense approach to it music.
You can hear all of this on the band's latest CD, "Damn Good Time" (Severn Records). This album follows "Last Train to Bluesville," which won a Blues Music Award for acoustic blues album in 2011.
This time out the Hawks try on a variety of styles and sizes, and everything seems to fit just right. Much of the music they bring comes with Pittsburgh roots, from Mike Sweeney to Billy Price to Norm Nardini to Glenn Pavone and Hawks drummer Mark Stutso, not to mention music from Elvis Presley, Jimmy McCracklin and Wilbert Harrison.
The opening track kicks off with a very tough version of the Presley hit (I know, what was not a Presley hit?), "Too Much," then moves into a classic Price/Pavone number, "Who You're Workin' For." Then comes the title track, which might just be the highlight, with vocals by Stutso - a classy job.
That doesn't mean the rest of the tracks are chopped liver -- stuff like "Bring Your Sister," "Night Work" (a tasty, swinging Mike Sweeney tune that was the title track of Price's album with French guitarist Fred Chapellier), "Let's Work Together," "Down to My Last Million Tears" and more all bring the music hard and fast.
If you're a Hawks fan, you'll know you can't go wrong here. If you're not (what's wrong with you?), this should do the trick. Fine music wrapped nice and tight with excellent songs and the usual Nighthawk exuberance. BYOB and have a great time.

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It's no surprise that the noun "work" appears in the title of three songs, and is a major component of "Minimum Wage," too, on the Nighthawks' umpteenth album since their 1972 inception. After all, "hard working band" is the phrase that has defined them over the decades and that shows no sign of changing in 2012, the quartet's 40th year on the endless road. It's also no coincidence that another track is called "Damn Good Time," because that's exactly what you'll get on one of their typical three-sweaty-sets-a-night gigs. But the band's recorded legacy has been plagued by inconsistent material and poor distribution as they have label hopped over their lengthy career. Harpist/frontman Mark Wenner doesn't have a particularly distinctive voice, either, but on this debut for the established blues imprint Severn, he shares vocals with two other members (guitarist Paul Bell is the odd man out) which creates a more diverse effort. Musically, bassist Johnny Castle and drummer Mark Stutso contribute some sharp originals, and as usual, the band unearths interesting covers, this time from the catalogs of Elvis Presley ("Too Much"), Billy Price (a rollicking "Who You're Working For"), Jimmy McCracklin (the always gutsy "Georgia Slop"), and even Nat King Cole ("Send for Me" reveals a sweet, late-night jazz/blues vibe seldom heard from these guys). They also rock through a tough swampy version of the hoary chestnut "Let's Work Together," but the song has been so over-recorded throughout the decades, it would have been better saved for the live show. What keeps the Nighthawks fresh is their ability to fuse soul, rockabilly, pop, and country elements with their rugged blues and that's evident here in the original rockers "Heartbreak Shake" and "Bring Your Sister." Wenner's Little Walter-styled electric harp drives the slow, swinging "Minimum Wage" like a Mustang motor and returns the opening Presley tune to its Chicago shuffling roots. None of the dozen tracks overstay their welcome, solos are sharp and compact as the band runs through its paces on an album that just sounds better than the majority of the entries in their extensive catalog, likely thanks to co-producer/engineer/mixer/label owner David Earl, who captures the Nighthawks at their veteran best. There aren't any surprises here, but for an act that has been slogging it out in bars, opening festival stages, and working as hard as the Nighthawks have over the past four decades, releasing an album this solid is an impressive accomplishment.

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Always known as one of the hardest working bands in the business, the Nighthawks' debut Severn release, Damn Good Time, features a combination of original and classic material. The album showcases the new line-up on versions of Jimmy McCracklin's Georgia Slop, Elvis' Too Much, the classic Smack Dab in the Middle, Nat King Cole's Send for Me and a cool version of the Wilbert Harrison tune Work Together. The most-recent band member, drummer Mark Stutso, does four originals, demonstrating the added talent he brings to the band as a songwriter and singer. The lone original member Mark Wenner gives us 6 tunes that feature his roadhouse vocal style and great harp work. Recorded at Severn Records new state of the art studio, Damn Good Time represents a new beginning for the band and for Severn Records. - amazon.com

This one’s a roots rocker with that blues driven sound that drove the ‘50s into the history books and gave birth to rock and roll as we know it. It’s seminal, it’s organic and The Nighthawks have been doing it for 40 years. Formed in 1972, the Nighthawks underwent several personnel changes before stabilizing as the lineup of Mark Wenner (vocals and harmonica), Jimmy Thackery (lead guitar), Jan Zukowski (bass guitar), and Pete Ragusa (drums). Their 1979 album, Full House, issued on Adelphi Records, had guest appearances from Muddy Waters' sidemen, Pinetop Perkins and Bob Margolin.
Keyboard player Greg Wetzel joined the band in 1983, was a full-time member until 1986, and has continued to play at special performances as an "alumni" of the band. The membership of the band remained stable until 1986. At that time, tired of the band's extensive touring schedule, Thackery departed to front his own groups, most recently the Drivers.
Following his departure, several players filled the lead guitar spot. These included Jimmy Nalls, Warren Haynes, Danny Morris, Pete Kanaras, with Kanaras becoming the longest lasting member. The band currently consist of the original Nighthawk himself, Mark Wenner (vocals and harmonica), Paul Bell (lead guitar), Johnny Castle (bass guitar), and with Mark Stutso replacing longtime drummer Pete Ragusa. “Minimum Wage” The Nighthawks Whether it’s blues, soul, good ole rock and roll, or R&B, they got you covered. The Nighthawks have always been great at digging out those obscure tunes from back in the day, and treating them oh so right. Then there is the originals that’ll put a swivel in your hips and have you slicking your hair back.

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While Mark Wenner is the only original member still in the Washington D.C.-based Nighthawks, the band has maintained a more or less consistent sound since its live debut in 1972. For one matter, a Nighthawks gig is going to feature Wenner blowing his custom designed Hohner Marine Band harmonicas. For many audiences, a harp means the blues. However, The Nighthawks first 1974 album was called Rock ‘n' Roll for a reason. In fact, Wenner and company have been rocking for 40 years and owe as much to Carl Perkins and Eddie Cochran as they do Jimmy Reed and Willie Dixon. They’ve been retro and roots for longer than those terms have been around.

The main difference with the new line-up on Damn Good Time! is the vocals, as all four members sing. Two longtime mainstays are Paul Bell (guitar) and Johnny Castle (bass). While he’s been touring with the band for two years, Mark Stutso makes his studio debut on Damn Good Time!. He’s far more than the new drummer. For this album, he’s also the lead singer for five tracks and is the most prolific songwriter along with his partner, Norman Nardini.

The Nighthawks have never been known for heavy radio airplay, but instead have established a reputation as a hard-touring band more than capable of getting a live crowd going. That’s pretty much what Damn Good Time! sounds like, a set list from a Saturday night gig when the band is hot and the beer is cold. For example, it’s dancin’ time in “Georgia Slop,” where the crowd don’t care about no police and Mondays are for talking about what happened Saturday night. In the same groove, staying up until the rooster crows in “Night Work” is what the singer loves to do.

You can also kick off your shoes for Castle’s “Bring Your Sister,” a fast shuffle featuring Bell’s rockabilly leads. The foursome is very much old school blues rock, with Wenner’s wheezing harp on “Too Much” and “Who You're Workin' For.” The slow, soulful “Damn Good Time” is among the selections that include background harmonies few straight-up blues bands ever attempt.

The harmonizing continues in the Stutso co-composition, “Minimum Wage” in which a lover gives out her favors for...well, the title says it all. Stutso also co-wrote “Down to My Last Million Tears” and “Heartbreak Shake,” which you can add to the list of ills love can leave you with. No bar band gets through a night without doing some covers, and here the quartet does its version of “Let's Work Together,” the Wilbert Harrison song which was a hit for both Canned Heat and Bryan Ferry. The slowest of the offerings is “Send For Me,” a choice from the Nat King Cole catalogue. Then it’s last call.

Damn Good Time! isn’t going to be on many listeners' “Best of 2012” lists, but it does hit all the right notes to fulfill the title’s promise. It’s a tight collection of short songs with minimal jamming that should appeal to anyone who likes to share their weekends with Budweiser, Miller, or whatever your beverage of choice is. But not for those drinking alone—as Elvin Bishop used to say, to have a good time, there should be at least two of you in the room.