Nathaniel Mayer

After narrowly cheating death a few years ago, the gravelly-voiced Detroit soul legend has returned with an even rawer recording than his ’04 effort for Fat Possum, I Just Want To Be Held. In what is nothing short of a stroke of genius, for these sessions Mayer teamed with the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, the Dirtbombs’ Troy Gregory and Outrageous Cherry’s Matthew Smith. Along with drummer Dave Shettler, they provide more than enough garage-y blues power for Mayer to strut his stuff to the fullest. Those who recall Andre Williams’ collaborations with the Sadies will immediately get into this similarly unlikely coupling (as will Stooges fans) but the soul stirring results speak for themselves. Sure, throughout most of it Mayer’s voice is little more than a strained croak but the passion he puts into tracks like “Please Don’t Drop The Bomb” and the nine-minute “Doin’ It” is undeniable. Hopefully his heart won’t give out before he gets to make another album as exciting as this one.