Artist: The Kentucky Headhunters
Album: Live at the Ramblin’ Man
Label: Alligator Records
Release Date: 1.11.19
A fear of flying kept The Kentucky Headhunters from spreading their fiery, down-home gospel of countrified, soulful Southern-rock overseas, before landing like an atomic bomb at Britain’s Ramblin’ Man Fair in 2016. Their first-ever U.K. performance was a memorable one, as they dove headlong into a cavalcade of rolling, electric-guitar thunder and full-tilt boogie-woogie that no beer-soaked barroom could ever hope to hold, while also strolling through easygoing, deep blues twilight.
Hopping the pond at the behest of rising hard-rock stars Black Stone Cherry and their drummer, John Fred Young, son of the Headhunters’ front man Richard Young, they savored the moment, plowing through a discerning set list to an audience of 25,000. The whole thing was recorded and is now released for the triumphant concert album Live at the Ramblin’ Man, a rousing experience greatly enhanced by three newly discovered studio tracks from the fertile Meet Me in Bluesland, sessions they recorded with piano legend Johnnie Johnson, who pounded the ivories on some of Chuck Berry’s most iconic works. The full-throttle “Rock ‘n’ Roller” and the classy, slowly rendered “Rock Me Baby,” with its soft blues twinkle and glow, are two sublime finds.
Onstage they sounded as heavy and massive as ever, as the Headhunters jumped right into the runaway freight train that is “Big Boss Man” after a celebratory introduction, their meaty riffs and thick grooves slamming away, as they did in a weighty, monstrous churn through a bluesy version of The Beatles’ classic “Don’t Let Me Down.” Adopting the cowboy swagger and dusty drawl of Dwight Yoakam, the Headhunters made a twangy “Ragtop” swing like a series of big right hooks from a heavyweight champ. In similar fashion, the strutting “Stumblin’” slides into the deliciously greasy “Shufflin’ Back to Memphis”—both tracks also part of the Headhunters’ glorious history with Johnson. Greg Martin’s tasty guitar leads and slide work can be searing or subtle, while Richard and Fred Young and Doug Phelps usually whip up a strong, rhythmic boil underneath, unless a lighter touch is needed. That’s a recipe that always turns out for the Headhunters, no matter the occasion.
—Peter Lindblad
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