The Dig 3 – Damn The Rent
Self Released
12 tracks/40 minutes
The Dig 3 offer up their second album of all original music. With Damn The Rent, Andrew Duncanson’s liner notes tell us the knocked out all ten songs in one day with no overdubs or edits and they did a fantastic job with those tracks.
Recorded at Earth Analog in Tolano, IL, the songs epitomize the sound anf feel of this great band. Andrew Duncanson sings and plays guitar. Gerry Hundt plays his foot brum kit, bass, guitar, harmonica, mandolin and organ and Ronnie Shellist plays harp.
They took up to Reliable Recorders in Chicago and laid out tow more cuts with Lauren Dukes on backing vocals, Aaron Whittier on bass, and Rick King on drums. Hundt handles guitar and organ here while Duncanson sings lead and plays guitar. 1970’s funk extraordinaire!
“Take A Ride” opens the album and sports a Bo Diddley beat, gritty vocals, and delightful harp, driven by a slick. classic groove. Things them shift to a cool shuffle with Andrew howling out the lead, a fun and bouncing beat, and more great harmonica.
Next is “Big Water,” another cut with a sweet groove and greasy sound. Shellist plays some excellent harp, Hunt gives the cut a great backdrop that moves the song along and Andrew sings with conviction. As if big water isn’t enough, Duncanson next sings “Dip My Toe” in gasoline. After a life of hell raising and having fun he asks to have his grave kepty clean and to dip his toe as stated. Andrew sings with deep emotion, the harp is again spectacular and the song is a winner.
“Chuck & Willie” is next, with some cool organ, harp and guitar. It’s an instrumental shuffle and it is a lot of fun. “Coconut Curry Dance” has a bit of a Latin lilt to it as Duncanson delights the listener with his vocals. The harp is again well represented as the boys have a good time on this one.
Hundt pulls out his mandolin for “Gold Tooth” as Duncanson tells the story of his Dad sending him a gold tooth in the mail from jail. Andy sings that he turned the tooth into $40 folding money and another 30 cents, just enough to pay his rent which he repeatedly sings disgustedly, “Damn the rent,” hearkening to the album title. Hundt shines on the mandolin here and Shellist blows some distorted harp. “Blanco Boogaloo” follows, a funky boogie with a great groove and more dynamite harp. Another fine instrumental that showcases Shellist’s skills.
“Red-Tailed Hawk” jumps as Duncanson howls and the boys lay out another slick groove. More excellent harmonica is featured as Andy sings about leaving town. “Old Dog” completes the cuts the trio recorded in Tolono. Gerry opens with kazoo and Ronnie joins in on harp in this down home acoustic cut. Andy sings as acoustic guitar backs him. Hundt and Shellist trade solos on this song with a great front porch feel to it.
The final two cuts are the dig 3 BIG Version. The funky “Southern Fantasy” has a great vibe going as Andy sings with Lauren right there with him on the choruses; very cool stuff! The album concludes with “All The Love I Got,” the second of the songs recorded in Chicago. Duncanson sings with soulful exuberance. A tasty guitar solo is offered up on this one and Hundt plays some nice organ for us.
Raw, traditional blues and fantastic musicianship and singing are the hallmarks of this CD. I truly loved the album; every cut is a standout and each deliver the good. I commend Andy, Gerry and Ronnie for their outstanding effort and another great recording. This one will garner notice in next year’s awards season. Go get the album now!
