“Rufus Huff”

by Beverly Paterson in Album Reviews

Not an individual artist, but a full-blown band, Rufus Huff features the talents of lead singer Jarrod England, Kentucky HeadHunters guitarist Greg Martin, bassist Dean Smith and drummer Chris Hardesty. Focusing on the sounds they grew up on and motivated them to make their own music, the foursome specializes in the type of heavy rock and roll penetrating FM radio in the late sixties and early seventies. In view of their self-titled debut album, there’s no mistake Rufus Huff has what it takes to recreate such wild and crazy expressions.

Fired by gallons of sweat and swagger, “Gotta Have Her Name” boogies and bucks with tugging hooks, “El Lago” incisively incorporates funky grooves with grizzled blues inflections and “13 Daze” rumbles, grumbles and tumbles to a racing repertoire of punishing rhythms and spinning tempos. Jarrod’s singing, which reflects the hungry growl of both John Kay from Steppenwolf and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, seethes with purpose, power and passion. The drumming is mesmerizing and the guitar work is simultaneously raw and flashy. Strains of jazz are visible on the herky-jerky “The Bottom,” while covers of Willie Dixon’s “I Ain’t Superstitious” and Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Good Morning Little School Girl” post new wrinkles on these frequently rendered classics.

Aside from the Steppenwolf and ZZ Top references, Rufus Huff pinches a few pages in the book from Jimi Hendrix, The Jeff Beck Group and Led Zeppelin. The band certainly doesn’t conceal their influences, but at the same time they’ve developed a unique identity. Gushing with killer jams, “Rufus Huff” is the ideal album to play air guitar to!