Things come crashing right out of the barn on the first cut of Jimmy Voegeli's jam-packed new record. "Hadaya" punches hard with everything the Monticello madman has. Soaring horns. Guitar solos that jolt through you like you're in an electric chair. Jimmy's shout-out lead vocals.
Then there's Voegeli's beefy piano chops. Patient and endearing on "Hell or Heaven." High on jive in "Love Will Find a Way." Chubby Checker comes alive in "Baby's So Fine." Voegeli's Hammond organ turns "Jimmy's Groove" into a flipped-out skate around the rink.
Voegeli has spiced this project heavily with guest players. The featured guitarists alone are a band unto themselves. Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos sits in, as does Madison's first couple of music, Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines.
It's a crime not to mention the whole band by name, so I'm going to close my eyes and point.
Mauro Magellan's drumming never lets up. Like a thief, Ken "Birddog" Olufs slides his harmonica in and out of Voegeli's piano lines. Bryan Husk's tenor and baritone sax work threatens to hijack the whole thing.
Voegeli knows exactly what he's doing, but like at his live shows, you'll be too busy having fun to notice. If there's a more musical, more fun-loving, harder-swinging keyboardist/bandleader out there, his name is Terry Adams of the late, great NRBQ.
