ROUND-UP: BLUES
By Henry Yates
GA-20: walking the Dog with style.
GA-20
Does Hound Dog Taylor
COLEMINE/ALLIGATOR
Many contemporary blues acts have sought to harness the rebel spirit of Theodore Roosevelt ‘Hound Dog’ Taylor, the six-fingered Chicagoan who, by his own description, “couldn’t play shit” but “made it sound good”. Yet most only end up highlighting their relative lack of hair and teeth.
The opening notes of She’s Gone announce GA-20 as more credible custodians of this music, with a guitar sound that sounds like it’s been mauled by wild dogs, and authentic too, with Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty both playing six strings, no bass (in tribute to Taylor’s double-guitar dynamic with Brewer Phillips).