The Radiators

""Ive been across this country,from Denver to the Ocean" Twas an evening of Manifest Fish Head Destiny at the new Southport Hall on Monticello Ave in Jefferson,LA. Acrostic is what we call the Radiators when acoustic guitars and the like are present. "Free lagniappe" is always the order of the day when this happens for the Rads with their mighty nightly ferocity and mind numbing improv, are really truely a collection of high end musical storytellers each with his unique history that like a quilt, a rad quilt if you will, patches it together and forms one very indomonable estuarian domain more commonly referred to as Fish Head Music. Never so definitive were the rockabilly, blues roots of this New Orleans band. Bobby Darin, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Louis Jordan, Howlin Wolf, The Seeds, Jefferson Airplane, John Fogerty, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and more all master-brewed, new orleanized, radiated and blended with Ed Volker originals, a few gospel songs, a few traditional folk songs and some insane acoustic gumbo served up as close to the riverbend as God allows ! Trust me when I say that the place where Oak Street meets the Mississippi River was already a pretty funky place even before a 19th century gambling hall was transformed into the finest of rock clubs. But Harold down at Southport has made it even funkier, this show is proof positive (200 proof that is). Emotion is the potion and Fish Head Music is the vehicle that will honestly transport you "back to loveland." Yeah, this is special stuff. "If a tinker were my trade,would you still find me, carryin all of the thoughts I made, followin` behind me." Give the Radiators tomorrow and many days to sing their unique passion into your musical conciousness. "Come fly with us." Lex "

"Just a brief review note, as I haven`t re-heard the sets yet. This show was a brilliant evening in a fine venue. For me the real highlight of the evening was hearing Ed sing the Blind Willie Johnson song "God Don`t Never Change". While Johnson may not have authored this simple blues moan, it was first recorded by him on Dec. 10, 1929 in a recording studio on Canal Street, above Werlein`s Music Store. Although Johnson`s 1927 recording of "Mother`s Children Have A Hard Time" (sic) has been covered by countless artists including Bob Marley and Eric Clapton, I`ve never heard or heard of _anyone_ covering this powerful blues. While the musical backing was considerably updated from Johnson`s primative 1927 techniques, Ed`s cadance, phrasing, and so forth re-created the original power I have long admired in the Blind Willie Johnson material (see Columbia/Legacy re-issue of 1993 C2K 52835). Although Johnson`s entire recorded legacy of 30 cuts fits onto this double-CD, there`s plenty there for The Rads to exploit. Personally, I`m hoping they do an album entirely of Johnson covers. They can call it Blind Willie Fish, or something like that. This acoustic set from Southport Hall is well worth having, for the "God" blues moan, as well as the rest of the material. I`ll leave reviewing the rest of a fine evening to others more knowledgeable than I. My guess is that, if the quality of this recording holds up to the quality of that night, this is one for the records."