Artist:     Webb Wilder & The Beatnecks

Album:     Powerful Stuff!

Label:     Landslide Records

Release Date:     5.15.18

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It actually did come from Nashville, this Powerful Stuff! That’s a reference, of course, to the much-revered 1986 Webb Wilder album touted by many as a seminal Southern rock tour de force. Somewhere in Music City, the previously unreleased studio and live material packed like dynamite into this archival release had been stored away for 30 years. Age hasn’t robbed it of its potency.

Harkening back to the days when Webb Wilder & The Beatnecks—formed in 1985 by Wilder and his longtime friend, Bobby Field—were a wild-eyed, rip-roaring concert act on the cusp of greatness, these red-hot 16 tracks of boisterous, full-tilt roots rock burn rubber. Many were buffed and shined by Field, acting as producer, although most were brought to life by original Beatnecks Wilder (lead vocals and guitar), Donny “The Twangler” Roberts (guitar and vocals), Denny “Cletus” Blakely (bass and vocals) and drummer Jimmy Lester. What a wild bunch they were.

They took Little Richards’ “Lucille,” Steve Forbert’s “Catbird Seat” and the twangy, upbeat “High Rollin’” on manic psychobilly bootlegging runs. It’s like a bomb went off in their muffled, yet feverish and close, live version of “I’m Wild About You Baby,” fragged by sharp pieces of slide-guitar. The surf-rock sounds of “Make That Move” have a Hawaiian swoon that belies the urgent, rugged rock driving it forward, while the rumbling title track growls low, mean growl like a vicious dog.

Everywhere, flurries of slashing, stinging six-string solos twist and turn, piercing the air. The witty lyrics sometime cut just as deep, exploring the quirks and strange, funny ways of humanity. And yet, there are also moments of brilliant songwriting, as the power-pop gem “No Great Shakes” simply sparkles and the jangly “Is This All There Is” finds hooks that Graham Parker has been seeking for years. Few bands could blend such varied influences into such lively, exciting rock ‘n roll—even if, on the rare occasion and for all of its heart, it leans toward standard bar-band fare. Webb Wilder & The Beatnecks were once able to pull it off with incredible panache.

—Peter Lindblad