Growing Hole

At first I thought Booker T.'s collaboration with the Drive-By Truckers and Neil Young, Potato Hole, lumbered a bit too much for its own good. Now I love its weight as the electric guitars crunch with with as much distortion as they can carry, making Booker's organ sound even more glide-ready. Making organ-driven rock 'n' roll didn't seem like a good idea at first, but "Stomp it Out" finds his organ pulsing as authoritatively as the Truckers' power chords, and "Native New Yorker" spawns the sort of Neil Young solo we live for, and Booker follows his lead beautifully. The stunt song selections - "Hey Ya" and Tom Waits' "Get Behind the Mule" - seem gimmicky and unnecessary by comparison, and I'd say the same for the Truckers' "Space City" if Mike Cooley's vocal melody didn't mesh with Booker's sense of melody so seamlessly.