Oregon Music News

Ain’t nothin’ wrong with Somethin’s Wrong, the new, self-released album from Portland-by-way-of-Chicago-and-Santa-Fe band, Billy D. & The Hoodoos.

Operating in the mode of Electric (with a Capital ‘E’) blues, this fine collection alternates between soulful blues ballads (“Somethin’s Wrong,“ “Blue” and “Love Makes You Cry”) and gritty guitar rave-ups such as the Thorogood-esque “50,” and the stomper, “Crazy Little Dancin’ Queen.”

Bandleader, Billy Desmond, provides an authentic, road-worn voice along with always tasteful and skilled guitar playing. He is amply backed by the rock-solid rhythm section of Big Jeff Sipe on bass and Mikey Chavez on drums.

Despite the punchy and clean production by Craig Neil, Somethin’s Wrong has plenty of grit in the grooves. Standouts on this platter of tasty tracks include the funky, down-and-dirty “Miss The Love” (echoing Johnny “Guitar” Watson), and the plaintive and yearning “Love Makes You Cry.” Also notable are Desmond’s flat-out nasty slide workouts on “50” and “Crazy Little Dancin’ Queen.”

Highly recommended for fans of the Chicago E-lectric masters and connoisseurs of Texas twang.