Tom Hambridge – Down The Hatch
12 tracks/41 minutes
Tom Hambridge is a four time Grammy winner. He writes songs, plays drums. Produces albums and here offers us a dozen songs he wrote for this effort and for others that make up his second Quarto release, following his 2023 Blue Ja Vu.
Here we have songs Hambridge wrote or co-wrote to support Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy, George Thoroughgood, and more. He assembled a fine cadre of players to accompany him. Rob McNeely or Bob Britt handle most of the guitar work. On bass we predominantly had Tommy MacDonald. John Lancaster does much of the keyboard work. I’ll note the others below.
He and Thoroughgood co-wrote “Willie Dixon’s Gone” for George’s album of Chess songs. This one reeks of The Destroyers sound, a rocking and vibrant cut that Tom handles the vocals well on. Great guitar riffs and a rocking groove make this cool. Then we have “Every Time I Sing The Blues’ which is a Clapton and Guy cut. Hambridge gets into some deep blues here, delivering a passionate performance. There is a wickedly hot guitar solo, too. “I Want You Bad” is a jumping boogie that delivers a great vibe and is nice blues. The organ is a little more forthright here in support. There’s another big guitar solo, too.
“How Blues Is That” is just the core trio of Tom, Ron and Tommy; it’s a slick slow to mid tempo blues that has some poignant riffs. Next is “Hard Times,” a gritty and grimy blues with feeling and some ethereal guitar. The jumping “What Does That Tell You” follows with Mike Rojas on keys. This is a big, ole blues rocker and it’s lots of fun.
“Believe These Blues” is melodic and features some cool distorted guitar licks. Jimmy Wallace is on keys here. “Making Lemonade” is really slick and has great accordion by Tim Lauer. It’s another jumping and jiving good cut! Next up is “What Might Have Been,” a somber and mournful number that verges on psychedelic vocally and on Britt’s guitar and Noah Forbes’ organ.
Kevin McKendree joins the fray for the heavy rocker “You Gotta Go To St. Louis.” Great barrelhouse piano is featured here as Hambridge pays homage to Chuck Berry’s style and Buddy Guy’s guitar. Glenn Worf on bass is also a force; he was Mark Knopfler’s bassist. It’s a wild ride! “Start Drinkin’ Early” is a light and airy cut with the base trio; there is nice guitar picking and a down home feel to this one. It’s a light hearted homage to day drinking. The concluding cut is “I Wanna Know About You.” Forbes is back on keys. I have to say this one has a bit of a Knopfler/Dire Straights feel to it. It’s a good rocker with a clean and great vibe and guitar work. Hambridge sings with feeling as they finish up a superb dozen tracks.
This is a super album. Hambridge delivers us some tasty cuts and fronts the songs with passion and forthright vocals. The guitar work throughout is strong. The back lines are powerful, the key boards tasteful and well done and the over all arrangements are great. I loved this album and I think it’s a winner!
