After a dozen or so years on Rounder Records,
NRBQ signed on with Virgin for the
Andy Paley co-produced
Wild Weekend (1989). The quartet retains its eclectic range of pop and rock mayhem, adapting several well-worn concert favorites for this studio platter. Nowhere is that more evident than the opening title track, which
Terry Adams,
Joey Spampinato, and
Al Anderson have adapted from the
Rockin' Rebels instrumental that was originally called simply "Wild Weekend." (
The Q's remake was also prominently featured in The Simpsons' tenth-season episode, Sunday Cruddy Sunday.)
Adams gives Crescent City props to zydeco pioneer
Boozoo Chavis on "Boozoo, That's Who!" (recalling the band's "Captain Lou" Albano homage), with both
Boozoo (accordion) and
Charles Chavis (rub board) as well as longtime friend
John Sebastian (autoharp) all putting their respective two cents in. Equaling
Anderson's lead guitar are his incomparable skills as a composer. The automobile anthem "Little Floater" and the brisk-tempo "Boy's Life" are two of the best entries on the album. The same can be said of
Spampinato's closer, the driving rockabilly-tinged "Like a Locomotive." It incorporates and complements the bassist's timeless melodic sense with the combo's simple yet effective no-nonsense performance. ~ Lindsay Planer