Back in the so-called Dark Ages, when solely instrumental acts like the MG’s and the Ventures, the Meters and King Curtis and the Mar-Keys, could have successful chart careers without saying so much as a word, most every rock ‘n’ soul band worth its salt could be counted on to have a couple of instrumentals at the ready–groovy grooves that were sure to fill the dancefloor and move the crowd. In the years since Dylan and the Beatles, of course, words–especially ones you wrote yourself–and also, consequently, a decreased focus upon dancing (at least among the rock half of the rock ‘n’ soul family tree) has seen instrumental bands fall out of favor.

Someday soon we’ll write about how that’s changing, just a little. Today, though, allow me to shine a light on a specific all (or almost all) instrumental effort from earlier this year, Duke Robillard’s Groove-A-Rama.  

Robillard has been around for nearly ever it seems. He started House of Blues back in the late sixties and at some point in the early nineties he replaced Jimmie Vaughan in the Fabulous Thunderbirds. So there’s not exactly anything new here. Still, listeners who only know his more blues-focused work might be surprised to hear how much jazz-styled guitar is present; Robillard’s original composition “Sunday Mornin’” (well, original in a kinda sorta way), for instance, is in the style of Wes Montgomery (another old-school act who had a pop career, of sorts, without having to sing). Duke also does a slow-and-humid version of “Danny Boy” in a similarly cool-jazz vein.

Here and there on the new disc, Robillard also shows off an appealingly twangy vocal style; he sounds kind of like Carl Perkins, for instance, on his skittering rockabilly go at Bob Dylan’s “Down on the Cove.” Mostly, though, mum’s the word here, which is not to say he has nothing to say. For example, “Blues-A-Rama” is a real clinic, in the best sense, where Robillard takes his sweet-ass time through the guitar styles of his favorite blues guitarists, from Muddy Waters and Guitar Slim to Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Lowell Fulsom, B.B. King, Freddy King, Albert King, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and so on and so on, for sixteen minutes! It’s fun proof-positive that there are as many ways to play the blues as there are people who have them.

The whole album is understated and swell, thanks as much to an in-the-pocket rhythm section as to the versatile playing of the front man. Indeed, my favorite track is the lead off one, Robillard’s “In the Memphis Grind,” which reminds me of the old Mar-Keys and MG’s hits. It’s for dancing for sure, or at least swaying along with.

Robillard will be playing Knuckleheads here in Kansas City a week from tonight, Friday, September 1st. For other tour dates visit his web site.

Duke Robillard “Do the Memphis Grind” and “Danny Boy” from Guitar Groove-A-Rama (Stony Plain Records, 2006)

And while we’re on the subject of groovy instrumentals, here’s a few more. “Popppycock” is from the latest Derailers album, Soldiers of Love, their first without co-frontman Tony Villanueva. Tony had always been the one who sang the sad ballerds, so I feared a Villa-less Derailers might be all wacky and uptempo, all the time. Not true. The new album finds Brian Hofeldt alone but doing some of the best honky-tonk pop of his career, and his finest ballad singing, too. In fact, I’d say Soldiers of Love (yes, that’s the Arthur Alexander song later covered by Marshall Crenshaw) is probably the band’s most consistenlty strong album yet.

With the exception, that is, of Here Come the Derailers, which happened to include what might be my favorite bit of instrumental rock-and-soul in recent memory, “Country A Go-Go.” It’s groovy in that go-go booted, mini-skirted variety-show dancing-girl way. I mean that as a big compliment, too. It’s in the same way-out familiy as Quincy Jones’ “Soul Bossa Nova” (AKA ,the Austin Powers song), except with pedal steel guitar.

The Derailers “Poppycock” from Soldiers of Love (Palo Duro Records, 2006)

The Derailers “Country A Go-Go” from Here Come the Derailers (Lucky Dog, 2001)

And, what the hell, here’re two more groovy speechlesses. One from the Morells, because our last post has prompted so much conversation in the comments section; the other from Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers because the composer and sax player here, Wayne Shorter, is 73 years old today.

The Morells “Bumble Boogie” from the out-of-print Shake and Push (Borrowed Records, 1982)

Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers “Lester Left Town” featuring Wayne Shorter from The Big Beat (Blue Note, 1960) and available on Footprints: The LIfe and Music of Wayne Shorter (Columbia/Legacy, 2004)

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