GA-20: Try It…You Might Like It! Review
According to GA-20 guitarist Matt Stubbs, “Not enough people know just how cool Hound Dog Taylor was.” Born with a condition called Polydactyly (six fingers on both hands), Taylor famously severed the extra digit on his right hand using a straight razor.
This 10-track cut is a wildly energizing tribute to a beloved blues icon that captures his spirit and celebrates the brash, dirty sound that swayed the storied Chicago group (Hound Dog Taylor and The Houserockers) to a wider audience beyond the Windy City.
If foot-stomping boogies and feral stripped-back blues is your bag, then Try It…You Might Like It! is definitely worth sinking your teeth into. The authentic bark of Hound Dog may seem a little muzzled if you are a die-hard blues purist, but the record still has a vintage feel having been recorded live with only a few microphones, as well as sticking to the Houserockers unique no bass player formula.
Iconic Blues number “She’s Gone” treats us to a classic blues groove that channels the Deep South. ”Let’s Get Funky” is deliciously fuzzy with a raucous shout of ‘Yeah!’ and sticksman Tim Carman laying down another beat that is simply impossible to avoid tapping your foot to.
“It’s Alright” has some of the most thrilling, loud, distorted slide guitar work that demands you stop mid-shuffle, before Taylor’s signature song “Give Me Back My Wig” is refrained from being given the drastic makeover that one may imagine when longing for an artificial covering of hair. Once again though, it flicks buckets of sweat across the dancefloor such is the energy it spawns, with singer Pat Faherty injecting passion and defiance in his vocals throughout to match this supercharged project.
With other song titles including “Phillips Goes Bananas” and “Hawaiian Boogie”, you can quickly get a sense of the feel-good jams and non-stop enthusiasm that drives this tentative taster.
For those of yet to experience the joy of GA-20 or be licked in the face by the soul-satisfying sound of Hound Dog Taylor, this is as an enjoyable place as any to start. To all the picky music lovers out there, ‘If you don’t try it, how do you know you won’t like it?’
The Review: 7.5/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– Let’s Get Funky
– It’s Alright
– Give Me Back My Wig
The Big Hit
– Give Me Back My Wig
