Album Details

• Artist: Booker T.
• Album: Potato Hole
• Label: Anti-
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2009-04-14

You really want to like this record and, for the most part, you will. Legendary organist Booker T. Jones resurfaces with a fairly decent set, backed by the Drive-By Truckers and, in sloppy over-amped mode, one Neil Young; "Potato Hole" features mostly covers, with a couple originals tossed in.

Covers of "Hey Ya" and "Native New Yorker" seem outrageous if not poor choices at first, but they grow on you. Young's guitar meanders but always manages to keep to the rhythm. "Pound It Out" and the title track do rock with authority, though again they seem a bit off: is Neil too restrained? Is Booker T. just vamping on typical bar band melodies?

Nothing wrong with that, though. The man has been quite hot player and innovator in the past, and occasionally here he is inspired enough to throw down some funky riffs. But too much of this sounds like what you'd hear around the corner on Saturday night, something that gets better as the empties pile up, but which you don't remember with much fondness the morning after.

"Potato Hole" is oddly comforting in the fact that it is nice to have Booker T. back and to see Neil Young in a guest role in which he is there just to wail. That doesn't mean, sadly, that this is a hot, inspired set.

User Reviews and Comments

on 2009-04-15 dscanland Said:

Ooh, cool. I'll definitely have to check out Potato Hole. Nice review!
Not Rated