Slide-slinging hotshot
Dave Hole doesn't stray far from the basics on his sixth album for
Alligator, which ought to please his established fans just fine. After all, he's not striving to bring new depth to high-energy
blues-rock; he's happy to just keep the fire burning by whipping off biting, energetic riffs that slash and sting with the nimbleness of
Duane Allman and the uncut fury of
Elmore James, two of his most obvious influences. Although the majority of the album is self-penned, it's easy to hear strains of
Rory Gallagher and
Johnny Winter in
Hole's attack. A few acoustic tracks -- like the languid
"Nobody," where the singer sounds a bit like
Leon Redbone, and
"Get a Job" -- ease the sonic aggressiveness, but not for long.
Hole's songwriting won't win him any comparisons to
Willie Dixon, but who's going to argue when he plows through a simplistic
Bo Diddley beat on
"Insomniac" with pile-driving force and a vocal similarity to
Eric Clapton, evoking Slowhand's
"Willie and the Hand Jive." Even on
ballads, like the beautifully languorous
"Out of My Reach," Hole tosses in a flame-throwing solo reminiscent of
David Lindley's work with
Jackson Browne. Covers of
B.B. King's
"You Move Me So" and
Jimmy McCracklin's
"He Knows the Rules" become frameworks for
Hole's fiery pyrotechnics. He's not changing the world, but with
Outside Looking In,
Dave Hole's just making it a little jumpier. Sure to enliven any party, this is fuel-injected high-quality house-rockin' music that'll blow the roof off any shindig. ~ Hal Horowitz
