Life, Love and Leaving in Bloomington, MN

Admittedly,
the Detroit Cobras
are simply a cover band. But with their release
Life, Love and Leaving
on the Long Beach label
Sympathy for the Record Industry
(the label responsible for
the White Stripes
' incredible international success), they've been given a bit of credence and an opportunity to showcase their amazing homegrown chops. These 14 songs, all
Motown
,
soul
, and good ole
rock & roll
standards, are the perfect material to bring this Detroit
garage rock
combo to life. Guitarists
Dante Aliano
and
Maribel Restrepo
set the frets afire with seething twangs and fuzz-box chord progressions. And singer
Rachael Nagy
attacks each song with aplomb, like
Janis Joplin
crossed with
Mary Wells
-- a hearty
bar band
crooner with showstopping resplendence. In fact,
Nagy
's most impressive track on the record is a cover of
Wells
'
"Bye Bye Baby."
Other standouts include her stunningly sincere renditions of
Jackie Deshanon
's
"He Did It"
Otis Redding
"Shout Bama Lama."
Like labelmates
the Cobras
' sound is stripped down to '60s proportions so that the production takes a back-seat to heart-rending voices and screaming guitars. In this regard, Detroit mainstay
Al Sutton
triumphs, producing a minimal gem of an album.
is clearly one of the best records of the Detroit
scene. Though
may never really get their due in the shadow of so many more flashy, press-friendly Motown rockers, they have the much-coveted gift of musicality that sets them apart from most of their noisy neighbors. ~ Ken Taylor