Press >> The Vancouver Sun 2000
Bocephus King & The Rigalattos - The Blue Sickness - New West Records/Spoondivy (3.5)
Article by: Kerry Gold |
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There's a wonderfully seductive simmer operating under the opening track, Eight and a Half, a luxurious, slithering, sliding, exotic number that could steam up car windows all on its own. It sets the unpredictable tone for this album from Railway Club fixture Bocephus King and his band, the Rigalattos, who have acquired serious cred for solid musicianship, all of it deserving.
Too many bands have died from the failure to translate a heady live brew to a recording, but not Bocephus et al. The sound is loosey goosey, raw and wild, with lots of cosy country harmonies that Elvis would have loved, gingerly picked guitar riffs and unexpected, fired.up blues-inspired arrangements that pack a thoughtful, poetic, roots punch. The weakest part might be King's nasal voice, which is one that only a mother could love. They probably said the same of Tom Waits at one time.
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