Title: That Love Thing
Artist: RJ & The Houndogs

THAT LOVE THING Former Spann leader throws down the comeback gauntlet
You may recognize the style here as early rock blues revisited, and you’re right. But what makes RJ & the Houndogs’ That Love Thing special is that the band members were there first time ‘round and can lay claim to that cherished if overused banner of authenticity. Jalbert’s first Spann album was arguably the first blues album recorded in Montreal’s burgeoning blues scene in the 70s.

That Love Thing features 9 new Jalbert originals, a take of Slim Harpo’s King Bee and 2 bonus Jalbert slide solos from the old days. Recorded in the unsuspicious confines of producer/engineer John Hagopian’s (Nanette Workman, Michel Pagliaro) North Montreal garage studio, That Love Thing is the blues refined and reduced to its Chicago-styled essence, the lyrics expressing the visceral core of themes familiar to blues faithful: love gone bad and well.

The Houndogs’s driving intensity could be described as biker-grade; Jalbert’s snarling guitar leads contrast with the melodic slide guitar style of Dean Cottrill over top of the driving rhythm section of Al MacNeil (bass) and ‘Tequila’ Al Paterson (drums). These elements serve as a soundscape for Jalbert’s seasoned voice and simplistic lyric schemes.

Groups that bear the usual hallmarks of the blues these days – hot guitar slingers, wailing saxes, throbbing bass and drums and youthful lead vocalists – are not so much about blues as they are about show. With the release of That Love Thing, RJ & the Houndogs hope to set matters straight.