This is one fun dance record, right from the opening bars of "Midnight Ramble," a piece that sounds like a cross-breeding of "Bo Diddley," with both the sax and the lead guitar having fun with the central riff, and "Yakety Sax." Not everything here is as delightful, hypnotically frenetic as that Curtis Ousley semi-original, but most of the album is done with an infectious sense of humor, and even the predictable numbers here, like "Linda," with its tango tempo, is eminently listenable, if not exactly breaking any new horizons in R&B. Other tracks, like "Jaywalk" and "Lil Brother," are slightly more adventurous; and the band has a lot of fun with "Peter Gunn." The final two numbers, "Birth of the Blues" and "Chili," don't quite fit in with the rest of the record, both utilizing orchestral accompaniment in lieu of the band. ~ Bruce Eder