Louisiana's LeRoux - One Of Those Days (Album Review)
Louisiana’s LeRoux might be a new name to many, especially here in the UK, but the stalwart Southern rock act’s career began back in the late ‘70s inking a major label deal with Capitol Records and releasing three albums, but national success was to prove elusive. The band would switch to the RCA label for ‘Last Safe Place’ in 1982 and enjoyed a Top 20 hit ‘Nobody Said It Was Easy’ while the harder rockin’ ‘Addicted’ was also moderately successful. The LeRoux sound was firmly rooted in their native Louisiana (a roux is the Cajun gravy base used to make gumbo) and slowly evolved into a harder more classic rock sound, most notably on their 1983 album ‘So Fired Up’ after the departure of original singer/guitarist Jeff Pollard. The new line-up featured guitarist Jim Odom and ex Trillion - and future Toto vocalist - Fergie Frederiksen but despite the album including such classics as ‘Lifeline’, ‘Carrie’s Gone’ and the title track the band had seemingly reached the end of the line…
In 1985 it looked like the story of Louisiana’s LeRoux were just one of many side notes in rock history, another one of those bands that had a brush with fame but faded away. Original members Tony Haselden (guitars), Rod Roddy (keys) and the aforementioned Odom had other ideas and continued to keep the flame burning over the years with occasional album releases and steady touring around their other commitments (Haselden has a successful career as a Nashville songwriter penning hits for Collin Raye, George Strait and Martina McBride amongst others). I was pleasantly surprised to find the band had a new album set for 2020, their first since ‘Ain’t Nothing but a Gris Gris’ twenty years ago.
Unsurprisingly for a band that tours and records sporadically, LeRoux has endured many a line-up change over the years but the addition of singer Jeff McCarty seems to have done the trick. McCarty has big shoes to fill as LeRoux have a knack of finding great singers. Since Frederiksen’s departure, another singer with a Toto connection Keith Landry (who gets a backing vocal credit alongside the likes of Bobby Kimball and Bill Champlin) has fronted the band as has a singer with equally impressive AOR credentials in Terry Brock (Strangeways /Network). McCarty stamps his mark on opening track ‘One Of Those Days’ which clocks in at a shade over six minutes and sees the band returning to their trademark sound and embracing a range of Southern influences. The band is now an octet and all the members get a chance to shine as they cruise effortlessly through a smooth classic rocker that has more than a hint of Johnston/Simmons era Doobie Brothers about it. The track is highly percussive with drummer Randy Carpenter and percussionist Mark Duthu working hard doing the spadework for guitarists Odom and Haselden to trade multiple lead lines reminiscent of the Allman Brothers Band. It’s a fine start and the first of four Odom/Haselden penned songs that form the spine of the album. The other Odom/Haselden tracks include the swampy country-rock of ‘Don’t Rescue Me’ which has a cool Skynyrd vibe, smart backing vocals and a terrific solo. The strident ‘Nothing Left To Lose’ features a charismatic vocal from McCarty (sounding strangely like a pissed off Robert Cray) and impressive slide playing from Haselden. ‘The Song Goes On’ rounds out the quartet and finds the band in relaxed mode with more silky-smooth guitar work and those equally smooth vocal harmonies (six of the guys add backing vocals). 'The Song Goes On' is one of those songs that features fantastic guitar interplay on the fade that you wish had not faded quite so soon. I'd have been happy for the song to live up to the title and go on and on.
The band pulls a real surprise out of the bag with ‘Lifeline (Redux)’ a reworking of a classic track from their ‘So Fired Up’ days. The guys reinterpret the song stripping away the pomp power of the original and settling on a more organic approach. Rod Roddy (piano/Rhodes) and Nelson Blanchard (Hammond) trade keyboard smudges with Odom and Haselden’s serpentine guitar lines on an extended jam which all comes together in unexpectedly fine style. Blanchard and Roddy are also to the fore on a terrific version of Dustin Ransom’s ‘No One’s Gonna Love Me (Like The Way You Do)’ while the band prove equally adept at Southern soul with the gospel-tinged ‘After All’ proving to be a Sam Cooke styled winner. The band again revisit their back story for ‘New Orleans Ladies’ with blues guitarist Tab Benoit taking the solo (LeRoux have toured and recorded with Benoit over the years). The track is one of three to feature original bassist and producer Leon Medica - who retired from live work in 2014 to be replaced by Joey Decker - and has become a signature song for the band over the years. The other tracks to feature Medica are ‘Sauce Piquante’ a nice instrumental in keeping with the New Orleans Cajun sauce from which it takes its name and ‘Lucy Anne’ which screams New Orleans with its rolling piano. Just think Little Feat and you’ll get the idea.
If you’re a long-time fan of Louisiana’s LeRoux then ‘One Of Those Days’ will almost certainly make your day (no pun intended). The band enlisted veteran producer Jeff Glixman (Kansas/Gary Moore/Georgia Satellites) to work the desk and have taken their time, but it’s been worth the two-decade wait. If this turns out to be a swansong for LeRoux, it’s a fitting one, but with live shows on the books for when the current pandemic hopefully settles down I’ve got a feeling, there’s still plenty of life in Louisiana’s LeRoux forty plus years into their career. ‘One Of Those Days’ comes highly recommended.
‘One Of Those Days’ is released July 24th 2020
Dave ‘Bucket’ Colwell might be a new name to some but the guitarist has played with plenty of notable names in a career that dates back to the 80’s. Colwell’s credits include being one of three guitarists in ASAP with Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden fame, key involvement as a songwriter/guitarist in the reformed Humble Pie on the 2002 ‘Back On Track’ album plus stints in many other acts including Samson, Urchin and The Entire Population Of Hackney.