S.D.Q. '98
Abetted by old friends (keyboard crazy Augie Meyers) and new acquaintances (the Gourds), Sir Doug concocts a typically savory stew filled with country, Cajun, blues, Tex-Mex, and rock. "When you're feelin' like Hermann Hesse / and you're playin' too much chess / just have a beer, no need to fear / and get a life," he sings on the irresistible bubble-gum pop of "Get a Life." Next thing you know, steel guitar whines (thanks to Tommy Detamore) on the country weeper "St.  Olav's Gate" while the Samm Dogg croons, "It's red meat and whiskey like a coyote drunk on the moon." And so it goes, as the Texas Tornado rolls through sloppy garage country, retro-soul ballads, buoyant groove rock, a Ray Price cover, and a steel-drenched send-up of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett." Tornado indeed!--Marc Greilsamer