NRBQ may have called it a day, but their founder
Terry Adams is keeping the group's joyous and slightly loopy legacy alive on his 2009 solo album,
Holy Tweet. Recorded with former
NRBQ drummer Tom Ardolino and guitarist and bassist Scott Ligon,
Holy Tweet doesn't aim to re-create the eclecticism of his old band's best work -- there isn't much in the way of stylistic leaps and bounds here -- but if you loved the pop-oriented rock & roll energy of "Rain at the Drive In," "I Want You Bad," or "Little Floater," then you're sure to like this set, which is dominated by short, straight-ahead tunes built around
Adams' sly but sunny vocal personality, buoyant melodies, and superlative keyboard work.
Holy Tweet also finds
Adams in a slightly libidinous mood on tunes like "Key to My Pants," "Not Tonight, Hon," and "Feet," though he celebrates women in a more traditional manner on the charming "My Girl, My Girl," "Beautiful Lover," and a cover of "Indian Love Call." The album does veer into unexpectedly serious territory near the end with the moody "I'm Alone," and a brief exercise in self-deprecation called "So Disrespected" that coasts to a close after just over a minute. At less than 29 minutes,
Holy Tweet seems a little bit thin by contemporary standards, but most of what's here is first-rate pop from one of music's true originals, and when
Adams decries musicians who have turned on their muse for a paycheck on "Never Cop Out," he can take pride in the fact he's never done that, and if this album is any indication, he's not about to any time soon. ~ Mark Deming