The Grocery Story – Situation On Aisle #3
Ma’s Record Co.
9 songs- 33 minutes
The Grocery Story is an eight-piece band from Fort Collins, Colorado, and Situation On Aisle #3 is their first release. Featuring seven originals written by various band members and two nicely chosen covers, Situation On Aisle #3 is an enjoyable mix of blues, soul and rock, with more than a hint of gospel and Louisiana swamp thrown in.
The album kicks off with the title track, written by keyboardist/accordionist John Magnie, which has the feel and groove of one of the Rolling Stones’ more threatening, late-60s numbers, before driving into Rhonda Merrick’s “Plaquemines Parish”, which mines a similarly ominous vein, but this time with a distinct New Orleans flavor.
The Staple Singers’ “Don’t Knock” is given a modern refresh, without losing the gospel heart of the original. It’s on tracks like this that The Grocery Story’s secret weapon of the combined voices of Peaches Embry and Rhonda Merrick really scores. The entire song builds to a wild, revivalist ending that is quite breath-taking. Indeed, there are a number of interesting facets to The Grocery Story that sets the band apart. One of them is the trio of lead singers, with Embry, Merrick and Erik Lunde all taking the lead on different songs, while also adding powerful backing vocals to every track. On a number like the soul-infused “Call Me Up”, the backing vocals are heavenly. Lunde’s lead vocals on “Far Country” are particularly impressive, as Embry and Merrick let loose behind him.
The band also benefits from having two drummers, in father-and-son team Steve and Jess Amedee, which provides the opportunity to add a Zydeco edge to songs like Johnny Cash’s “Big River”.
The band’s own songs are cleverly written with sharp lyrical observations. The title track tells the story of a woman going shopping, only to be phoned by her boyfriend, telling her that the relationship is over. Magnie’s “Stick With Love” weaves in a few lines from Martin Luther King Jr.
Situation on Aisle #3 was recorded and mixed by Darren Radach at Stout Studios in Fort Collins, and mastered by David Gallser at Airshow Mastering in Boulder, CO.
The Grocery Store comprises various veteran musicians with decades of experience and each musician brings that experience to this album, together with grit and emotional depth. Marty Rein’s bass lines at the end of “Far Country” are a subtle delight. Mike Finders lays down a series of excellent guitar parts and, when he does have an opportunity to take a solo, he does so with taste and style. His solo on “Always Come Back Home” is a mini-masterpiece.
The album ends Embry and Magnie’s “Too Hurt To Cry”, which is perhaps the emotional heartbeat of the album, a total powerhouse of song, and a tune that makes you want to start listening to the entire album again. Really enjoyable stuff.
