Soledad Brothers

Their records are great and so are their live shows, so it shouldn't be a surprise that a live recording of one of their shows is great too. From the raunchy Bo Diddley-beat throw-down of "Stand Up" to the Stones-influenced perfection of their mini-hit "Teenage Heart Attack,” the Soledad's just can't be topped when it comes to rocking, heartfelt blues delivered with that special scrappy Detroit flair. As on their studio albums, wild sax work and tasty harmonica playing fill out their slide guitar and drum attack. Just check out "Johnny's Death Letter" and you'll be saying "Who cares?" to the trivial facts that one Soledad is White Stripe Jack White's roommate and that one of them is a recently graduated doctor of medicine. In short, these guys basically make almost all the so-called broken/wild/punk blues bands in the world sound like shit. The Soledad Brothers are the real deal and the fact that this record is a sonic document from the now-defunct tiny Detroit dive-venue the Gold Dollar makes it all the more sweet.