Shanda and the Howlers - It Ain't Easy

 

It has taken me way too long to pick up the Howlers latest album, but I'm glad that I was finally able to get out to see them and to purchase this! It's another terrific slab of old-school R'n'B, Blues and Girl Group-styled tunes with the core band - Shanda on vox, natch, Luke on bass and backing vocals, Trevor on guitar and Joshua Miller (now replaced by Turbo Proctor) on drums - supplemented by various horn players, some nice keyboards, harmonica, vibraphone, glockenspiel, percussion and more! The group still rocks these tunes live, but the augmentation on the recordings add a fine touch.

They start off with a fine piece of soulful 60's girl group sounds in "Miles and Miles", augmented by the glockenspiel to good effect with perfect Ronettes-styled "oh-oh's" and even some Phil Spector-ish sound effects. "Please Come Home" is a sultry, soulful, swingin' blues in a James Brown kinda way, down to the call'n'response vocals, mournful sax and the big, showy ending. They demonstrate their garage-y roots in the powerful, hard-rockin', Sonics-like "I Want You Anyway", then there is more fine soul/blues mixture in "Used To Call Me Baby", the title cut is a gritty jump-blues number highlighted by Trevor's sharp guitar licks and some good harp interplay, back to a somewhat more mellow girl-group groove again for "Whatcha Gonna Do Now", highlighted by a fine horn section and more glock/vibraphone, then Shanda really gets to belt out the R'n'B-er "Won't Be Back No More" (with melodic hints of the Downliner Sects' great one, "Glendora"). A return to some Southside Johnny, horn-section fueled R'n'B in "That Boy", followed by more classic girl-group sounds with nice keyboard accents in "Walk Away", and then a reprise of the dirty, slide guitar/harmonica blues for "Getaway Driver", they get into almost Louis Jordan territory for the jumpin' jive of "Won't Take No" and they close out with an old school, bluesy tear-jerker with "Miles and Miles (slow version)".

While I haven't heard everything that they have done, I think this is probably the finest production work by John Fallon and Joe Lawless (aided by Luke) - the sound is great, the musical additions are fitting and not overpowering and everyone works together to make the end product the star. Great record!