The Road Hammers - Blood, Sweat & Steel (CD)

Modern trucker country from the great white north

By redtunictroll  Jun 26, 2008

Pros: Updated take on trucker country.

Cons: Modern country sound can be overbearing and generic.

Like their labelmate Andy Griggs, The Road Hammers play a nitro-boosted brand of funky modern country rock that’s drawn in part from the Muzik Mafia stylings of Big & Rich. The group’s playing and production is solid, and their vocal harmon...ies are tight, but what really provides distinction is their slate of blue collar truckin’ tunes. But unlike Dale Watson’s “Truckin’ Sessions” this isn’t a throwback to earlier truckin’ sounds, and the group’s originals aren’t your daddy’s lonely songs of haunted, pill-popping, one-arm tanned long-haul truckers. Instead, the band lives up to its name with swaggering, full-throttle performances of originals and tunes borrowed from the pens of John Rich, Chris Knight, Jerry Reed and Lowell George. George’s “Willin’” is one of several genre classics reprised here. The Road Hammers’ version of “East Bound and Down,” reflects the hammy spirit of Jerry Reed’s version for the film “Smokey & The Bandit,” and a terrific rocked up take on the Del Reeves hit “Girl on the Billboard” hangs on to its country roots with pedal steel and a twangy guitar solo. Less well known is Chris Knight’s “The Hammer Goin’ Down,” which was featured in the Patrick Swayze film Black Dog, and sung here more as a ballsy response to a challenge than a desperate response to a difficult situation. It works both ways, though it’s more emotionally charged in Knight’s earlier take. The group’s originals include the album’s eponymous declaration of the road warrior’s life, the upbeat two-stepping travelogue “Nashville Bound,” the gear-jamming “Overdrive,” and the slinky ‘70s-styled “Keep On Truckin’.” This U.S. debut LP borrows ten tracks from the group’s initial Canadian release and adds three newly recorded tracks: “Workin’ Hard at Lovin’ You,” “I Don’t Know When to Quit,” and “I’ve Got the Scars to Prove It.” The first of three, written by John Rich, is rife with braggadocio, while the last provides a rare moment of introspection in which a hellraiser reflects on the rough way he’s lived his life. Much as 1960s trucker country reiterated 1940s and 1950s themes in the then-current musical idiom, it was only a matter of time until the time-tested subject caught up to Nashville’s current sound. The Hammers do a nice job of mixing in a few chestnuts, insuring there’s something here for both modern country fans and those weaned on the trucker tunes of the ‘60s and ‘70s. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings.[©2008 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com] Read more Less