John Hammond ~ Wicked Grin

Virgin/Pointblank Records

Venerated bluesman John Hammond's 28th solo album, Wicked Grin, is the latest fruit of his mutual admiration society meeting with well-known junkyard dog Tom Waits. Hammond and Waits have been kicking around, buying each other drinks, and working together since playing a show in 1974. Hammond recording an album of mostly Waits' songs is much more organic than 1996's insipid Step Right Up: Tribute to Tom Waits. Armed with his National guitar- and harmonica-laced Delta blues, and a voice that's about two packs shy of Waits' trademarked growl, Hammonds blends amazingly well with Waits' own brand of outsider art. These two come together perfectly on "Buzz Fledderjohn," Waits' lament of being on the wrong side of the fence looking in. Waits wrote a couple of new songs for the album, produced it, and even lends a hand and voice on "I Know I've Been Changed," the only non-Waits composition on the disc.

Hammond's backing band, culled from the best session men around, breathe some fresh breath into boozy classics like "Heartattack and Vine," "16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought Six," and "Get Behind the Mule," from 1999's Mule Variations, Waits' Grammy-winning album that Hammond appeared on. Waits has always been efficient with his words, and now Hammond strips the music down further. On "Wicked Grin," these songs are distilled down to their essence: sparse, simple, successful. To quote T Bone Burnett's liner notes, "This is the deep stuff. The dark stuff. This is the facts." –Joey "X" Hobaica

Wicked Grin will be available March 13.

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