The Calgary Sun
February 20, 2004
By Darryl Sterdan

A FIX BACK EAST
Tarbox Ramblers
(Rounder/Universal)

Think hard, now: When was the last time you heard a new album that made your hair stand on end? Even better, when was the last time you heard a new blues trio that sent shivers up and down your spine?

In our case, it was a couple of weeks ago -- the first time we listened to A Fix Back East, the mesmerizing sophomore album from Michael Tarbox and his Ramblers. And it's happened most days since, chiefly because Tarbox and his music have taken root in our Discman and our psyche like kudzu in the ditch by Route 66.

For our money, Tarbox is the most evocative and distinctive blues-roots artist to come down the pike in ages. How do we love him? Let us count the ways. First, there's his electrifying voice, a rusted, ragged rumble that fuses the best qualities of Keith Richards, Tom Waits and early George Thorogood. Then there's the gritty power of his guitar, a cheap-sounding instrument that growls with distortion, moans with ominous tension and reverberates with the spirit of the Delta.

Most important, of course, are his songs, which run the gamut from spiky, choogling juke-joint raveups and swampy, hypnotic hoodoo drones to gothic Americana ballads and surprisingly tender country gospel -- when they don't remind you of hipper bands like Morphine and Firewater. But let's not give short shrift to the raw energy and garagey immediacy of his no-frills rhythm section, not to mention the lively underproduction of Memphis music guru Jim Dickinson. They were obviously instrumental in helping Tarbox forge an unforgettable stunner of a disc that belongs in the collection of every roots music fan -- and has already earned a spot on our year-end best-of list.