Live At The Cadillac Club
Root Doctor may be one of Michigan's best-kept musical secrets. The Lansing-based five piece has been making hips shake for years, but as evidenced in recent work like 2007's Blues Music Award-nominated Change Our Ways, the band's ready to let the cat out of the bag.
Root Doctor's latest, Live at the Cadillac Club, is all you could want from a live blues/roots collection. From start to finish, the sound is raw and direct, and it has that danceability factor that makes blues festivals so much fun.
The disc's lead track, "Hip Hug Her," is a fine example of what Root Doctor can do live. A six-minute instrumental all about funky groove, it's equal parts Booker T. & the MG's organ bliss and Robert Cray-like Stratocaster smoothness-what a great way to kick off the party. The disc segues from there to the high-energy boogie of "Walkin' Out On You," to the Memphis Soul of "Love Bones" and the slow-burn blues of "It's Too Late to Try to Do Right."
Live at the Cadillac Club features two fantastic covers: the late night feel of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and a muscle-flexing rendition of "Reconsider Baby," complete with band solo spots-a scorcher for sure. Closing the disc is the climactic rave-up of "The Turning Point," completed with the Motor City Horns in tow. By the end of the set, you're fully aware that Root Doctor doesn't quit.
So often, live albums are more of a side note to a band's catalog. In Root Doctor's case, you could actually start with this album to acquaint yourself with the band. I'd hate to say that the band is at the peak of its powers here, but it sure is hard to imagine them squeezing out one extra drop of power, passion or rockin' soul.
Mark Uricheck
Elmore Magazine
Jan/Feb 09
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