JOHN HAMMOND "Push Comes to Shove" Back Porch/EMI
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WOULD YOU PREFER having Tom Waits or G. Love produce an album by bluesman John Hammond? Oddly enough, you now have a choice. When Waits and Hammond teamed up for "Wicked Grin" six years ago, the result was a recording that was truly distinctive and inspired, a career milestone. And G. Love's new collaboration with Hammond? Not so much.
The good news is that G. Love mostly stays out of the way on "Push Comes to Shove," and even his most conspicuous cameo, a seemingly tacked-on rap heard on a cover of the Freddie King hit "I'm Tore Down," isn't irritating so much as it is unnecessary. Otherwise, Hammond seems to be calling the shots even if he isn't. The notoriously reluctant tunesmith contributes five songs that complement unvarnished and stirring versions of tunes by Junior Wells ("Come On in This House"), Little Walter Jacobs ("Everything Gonna Be Alright") and chum Waits ("Cold Water"). An unexpected treat is Dion's "If You Wanna Rock & Roll," a raucous, mid-session romp.
Raw electric blues generate the album's primary thrust, riddled with cross-harp riffs, cresting organ runs, boogie piano breaks, stomping beats and Hammond's wonderfully weathered vocals. But Hammond's strong ties to country blues traditions -- and to Delta legend Robert Johnson, in particular -- are also evident whenever he picks up his acoustic and National Steel guitars. Clearly, G. Love hasn't helped Hammond create an instant classic, as Waits did, but by underscoring the bluesman's familiar strengths, his efforts pay off in the end.
-- Mike Joyce
Appearing Tuesday at Rams Head Tavern and Wednesday at the Barns at Wolf Trap.
