Seven years after they last released a studio album,
NRBQ are back -- well, sort of.
NRBQ quietly called it a day in 2004, the same year they released the album
Dummy, and since then keyboard man, songwriter, and de facto leader
Terry Adams has been touring and recording with a new combo,
the Terry Adams Rock & Roll Quartet. However, for the album
Keep This Love Goin',
Adams has rechristened his
Rock & Roll Quartet NRBQ, even though he's the only original member of the group on board (longtime
Q drummer
Tom Ardolino does sit in on two numbers and contributes cover artwork). Given that
Adams has had plenty to deal with in recent years (most notably being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2004), it's hard to fault him for wanting to look back to his musical salad days, and
Keep This Love Goin' strives to match the sound and mood of
NRBQ's golden era. This is very much a group effort rather than an
Adams solo set, with
Scott Ligon and
Pete Donnelly contributing vocals and songwriting as well as guitar and bass, and the songs certain reflect the playful eclecticism of
NRBQ at their best, from the slightly twisted R&B of "Sweet and Petite" and the bluesy boogie of "Red's Piano" to the sweet pop melody of the title track, the
Tchaikovsky-quoting playfulness of "In Every Dream," and the jazzy introspection of "My Life with You." And
Adams' keyboard work is as superb and singular as ever, while
Ligon,
Donnelly, and drummer Conrad Choucroun are a fine band, fluid and able to keep pace with
Adams' always shifting musical moods. Despite all this, while
Keep This Love Goin' might look and sometimes sound like an
NRBQ album, this music doesn't quite capture the ineffable groove and unique vision of the band's best music;
NRBQ fans will almost certainly enjoy it, but few will be fooled into thinking it's the real thing, good as
Adams and company may be on these sessions. ~ Mark Deming