{grate 3} If Howlin Rain were a soup of the day, they would definitely
be a cream-based chowder, with chunks of Steve Miller floating in it and a
sprig of Allman Brothers for garnish. Sounds tasty, doesn’t it? Well, it is.
After all, chowder is a comfort food and Howlin Rain’s ’70s throwback vibe is
familiar and warming.
The group’s sophomore effort, Magnificent Fiend, starts off
with a just-under-a-minute number, “Requiem,” whose flamboyant horns over a
piano tremolo could easily be the soundtrack to a Mexican standoff in some
Spaghetti western. This segways into the in-your-face unbridled energy of
“Dancers at the End of Time,” whose epic-sounding title goes well with the
track’s psychedelic rock. It’s as if
“Sunshine of Your Love” and Vanilla Fudge mated and brought forth from
their loins some decadent offspring with a penchant for guitar solos.
The real gem of the album, however — the yummy, gooey rock
nougat of it all — is at the center of “Lord Have Mercy.” The track starts off
deceptively groovy and mellow, complete with organs and jazzy piano backing,
but it climaxes in fuzz guitar glory and gospel drama with Miller and choir
proclaiming, “Lord, He has my number under the thunder, in his hand!” It makes
you want to stand up from your pew, arms over your head and echo back a
resounding “amen!” to Miller.
Magnificent Fiend’s every track takes its listener on
different sonic trips. Elements of gospel, psychedelic and swamp wrap their
legs around each other on all eight songs. With all the solos, from the
ever-apparent guitars to the unexpected
organ, Howlin Rain’s got this genre-blurring thing down.
However, even though the epic solos and shredded voice may
appear authentic, the music can at times feel more like throwback homage than
an original undertaking. Nevertheless, the familiarity is comforting. Stuff
tastes better renuked anyways.
