“nighthawks”
The Nighthawks
Still Wild
Ruf
Like most great blues bands, the Nighthawks do their cookin’ on stage, in front of a bunch of sweaty beer-drinking bar hounds, not in a studio. Still Wild proves that point, making the band sound almost like blues Muzak – sterile, tentative covers of Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and others in a flat-sounding mix. Long time member Mark Wenner still sings his ass off, but to little or no avail – this is a band, like the Grateful Dead, that doesn’t really exist on record. You just gotta be there. So save your money for an extra pitcher of suds the next time they roll through town – and they will, since the ‘Hawks are one of the busiest touring bands in creation – and hear this stuff the way you were meant to – loud, in your face and jumpin’.
Ruf Records, http://www.statera.si/Ruf\_Records.htm