half the tracks and supplied some backing vocals . Little Steven sang backup on a track . East Coast legend Gar Francis added guitar , keyboards and vocals . Mike Caruso on bass , ladies and gentlemen , and Richard X . Heyman on drums when Reil is missing . Myke Scavone on harmonica and Mike McGinnis on sax ( along with Lindsay — he was a sax man back in the day , don ’ t you know ). Do I recognize any of them ? I do now .
Truth is , the album grew on me and it didn ’ t take long . By the end , first time through , I was a happy man . Not only was the album not an embarrassment , it was good ! In fact , it was damn good ! Successive hearings have had me bopping my head and smiling like a demon because while this is not the Mark Lindsay who fronted the Raiders , this is an alter ego who approaches and on occasion equals him .
The band ? Solid . On certain tracks , freaking outstanding ! Special notice has to go to Gar Francis who completely blows the amp apart on a couple of tracks and whose musical legerdemain surpasses even what he did on his own project ( read my review of Francis ’ s Shine On EP here ).
Surprises on the album are Rush On You , written by Francis and sounding like a followup to The Sonics You Got Your Head On Backwards with touches of the Raiders ’ hit Steppin ’ Out , complete with Yardbirds freakout ; I Can ’ t Slow Down , immersed in the late fifties and early sixties with question and answer sax and guitar ; the completely smokin ’ Easy Street ; and the very Raiders-like New Thing .
Ah , hell . Truth is , they ’ re all surprising . Lindsay and Francis put together a string of impressive songs , hence an impressive album . Of course , songs without attitude mean nothing . They have that too . When you buy this , play it LOUD !!!!! - Frank O Gutch , JR
LIFE OUT OUT | BUY AT info @ bongoboyrecords . com $ 18.50