ALBUM REVIEW: "Groovin' Saloonatics" 

Groovin' Saloonatics

"Groovin' Saloonatics"

Self-released

facebook.com/groovinsaloonatics

I wasn't there when Groovin' Saloonatics recorded this CD at Green Room Studios, but the band sounds stoned. The band's new CD is a laid back outing for what looks to me like an all-star collaboration. Cats like Mick Sarubbi, Don "Anonymous" Blair, and Ricky Dodge, to name a few, come together for a record of songs you'd expect blasting out of the windows and cracks of Big Pink in years gone by.

World-weary lyrics sung with minimal exasperation and a big ole smirk are the frosting on this bluesy, rootsy shakedown. It's loose, but it ain't sloppy. It's groovy, porch-sittin' music with little or no pretense nor lofty aspirations. "Crazy" is a stand-out cut with lyrics about a woman who is "crazy just like a shithouse rat" sung over a bluesy shuffle. "Six Days Too Soon" is a cool nod to reggae, or what the band calls "rasta polka" — that's what I heard anyway. "Scotch Goggles' is a fun, swinging rave-up where Blair really gets to lean on the 88's. "Groovin' Saloonatics" is a fun record folks. Drop the needle in the groove and drag deep.