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| Nick Curran's Long-Awaited Return, 'Reform School Girl' On 'Reform School Girl' (Eclecto Groove, Feb. 16), Nick Curran's first new album in five years, the shouter, songwriter and monster guitarist is an unstoppable, high-energy one-man 50's R&B revival. Curran wrote or cowrote 12 of the album's 14 foot-stomping tracks. Called "just a total ass-kicker" by no less an authority than Jimmie Vaughan of The Fabulous Thunderbirds (with whom he played for three years), the Austin-based Curran and his new rock 'n' roll roots band, The Lowlifes, pull out all the stops on the new album. Curran recorded 'Reform School Girl' on vintage instruments and analog equipment, all the better to recreate the raw, explosive sound of early R&B and rock 'n' roll 45's that he loves. Tracks such as "Tough Love" and "Lusty Li'l Lucy" show the influence of Little Richard and Chuck Berry, while the title track - with its refrain, "She stole my heart and then she blew this town" - pays homage to girl groups like the Shangri-Las and the Ronettes. "Baby You Crazy" recalls the Sonics at their loudest. Nick Curran's previous release, 'Dr. Velvet, ' garnered the 2004 W.C. Handy Award (now known as the Blues Music Award) for "Best New Artist Debut." In 2008, Curran performed four songs on the mega-hit HBO series "True Blood." All Music Guide called him "one of the most authentic and exciting roots musicians of his generation." write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |