Hooooo Rhythm Devils


Band members                         Related acts

  line up 1 (1971-72)

- Joe Crane (RIP 1980) -- vocals, keyboards

- Richard Greene (aka Dexter Plates) -- bass

- John Rewind -- lead guitar

- Glenn 'Hambone' Walters -- drums, vocals

 

  line up 2 (1972)

NEW - Roger Allan Clark -- drums, percussion

- Joe Crane (RIP 1980 -- vocals, keyboards

- Richard Greene (aka Dexter Plates) -- bass

- John Rewind -- lead guitar

- Glenn Walters -- drums, vocals

 

  line up 3 (1972-73)

- Joe Crane (RIP 1980 -- vocals, keyboards

NEW - Keith Knudsen -- drums (replaced Roger Allan Clark)

- Richard Greene (aka Dexter Plates) -- bass

- John Rewind -- lead guitar

- Glenn Walters -- drums, vocals

 

  line up 4 (1973-74)

- Joe Crane (RIP 1980 -- vocals, keyboards

NEW - Jerome Kimsey -- drums (replaced Keith Knudsen)

- John Rewind -- lead guitar

NEW - Roger Staton -- bass (replaced Dexter Plates)

- Glenn Walters -- drums, vocals

 

 

 

- The Bobs (Richard Greene)

- Joe Crane and His Hoodoo Rhythm Devils

- The Crowd (Joe Crane)

- The Doobie Brothers (Keith Knudsen)

- Marble Farm (John Rewind)

- Lee Michael (Keith Knudsen)

- The Steve Miller Band (Roger Allan Clark)

- Mystic Number National Band (Glenn Walters)

- The Glenn Walters Quartet (Glenn Walters)

- The Zoo (John Rewind)

- Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra (Glenn Walters)

 

 


 

Genre: rock

Rating: 4 stars ****

Title:  The Barbecue of Deville

Company: Blue Thumb

Catalog: BTS 42
Year: 1972

Country/State: San Francisco, California

Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+

Comments: gatefold sleeve; cut lower right corner

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 131

Price: $15.00

 

After all these years I'm still find it amazing that The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils were home-ported in San Francisco ...  It just doesn't seem right that a slinky, lowdown outfit like these guys weren't from somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon line. 

 

By the time he was in his 20s Joe Crane had an extensive musical career that included touring with George Jones and Barbara Lynn, extensive sessions work, and even an obscure single with the band The Crowd.  By the mid-1960s Crane was in the US Coast Guard (better than Vietnam), stationed in Alameda, California where his musical career was limited to occasional performance with a pick up cover band The Buzzards.  Turned on to Crane's talents by a mutual friend, former The Zoo guitarist John Rewind began hanging out with Crane; in the process winning a fan in the form of Jack Leahy who was in the process of setting up a recording studio and began recording demos with the pair.  With the addition of bassist Richard Greene (credited as Dexter C. Plates), and former Mystic Number National Band drummer Glenn Walters, the quartet began attracting attention working under the name Joe Crane and the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils.  That led to a contract with Capitol and the release of 1971's "Rack Jobbers Blues".  The album did little commercially and Capitol promptly dropped them from its recording roster.   After a personnel change that saw former Steve Miller Band drummer Roger Allan Clark added to the line-up, the band opted to shorten their name to The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils and signed with the Blue Thumb label.

 

promo photo: right to left:

John Rewind - Joe Crane - Richard Greene (sitting) - Glenn Walters - Roger Allan Clark

 

Produced by David Rubinson, 1972's "The Barbecue of Deville" was unlike anything else being recorded by early-1970s San Francisco bands.  Forget about The Airplane, The Dead, Moby Grape, Quicksilver, etc. and shift your thoughts towards acts like Dr. John, Little Feat, and even The Meters and you'll have a feel with respect to what to expect from this killer album.   Powered by Crane's amazing soul-soaked voice, Rewind's tasty lead guitar and the band's killer rhythm section, The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils displayed more soul on this one album, than Bob Weir ever managed to come up with across his entire Dead and solo careers.  Listen to tracks like  'Truer Than Me', 'Too Hot To Handle', and 'Eating In Kansas City' and tell me how these guys could have called San Francisco home (yes, I know Crane hailed from Texas and even recorded with Edgar and Johnny Winter during the early 1960s).  Simply crawling with slinky, low-tech, good time rockers, with the exception of the perfunctory blues-rocker Lotta Fine Woman' 'there wasn't a bad performance on the entire album.

 

- Kicked along by Rewind's slashing fuzz guitar, Crane's bluesy voice, and the band's chirpy backing vocals, 'Truer Than Me' was a wonderful slice of good-timey rock and roll.  If you were looking for psychedelic excesses, or pretentious progressive moves this wasn't the place to be lookin'!   rating: **** stars

- With a killer soul-infused rhythm, Rewind's stinging slide guitar, and Crane's fantastic voice, 'Too Hot To Handle' has always reminded me of a first-rate Lowell George composition.  Supposedly inspired by Crane's longstanding infatuation with Marilyn Monroe, it's hard to imagine that early-1970s radio didn't jump all over this one.     rating: **** stars

- 'All Tore Down' slowed thing down with a slice of Tony Joe White-styled swamp rock.  At least to my ears Crane's voice was 100 times better than Whites (and I'm a big White fan).   White guys simply weren't suppose to sound this soulful.      rating: **** stars

- Kicked along by some Augie Meyers-styled organ, 'Eating In Kansas City' was the kind of no-frills rocker Doug Sahm and the Sir Douglas Quintet would have killed to have recorded.  Try sitting till through this one.   rating: **** stars

- The ballad 'I Was Wrong' sounded like Crane and company had been listening to more than their share of Robbie Robertson and the Band.  That wasn't meant as a criticism since this Americana-influenced performance (with backing from The Pointer Sisters) was one of the album highlights.  (By the way The Hoodoo Gurus served as The Pointer Sisters backing band on their 1973 live set "Live At The Opera House".)   rating: *** stars

- The album's first disappointment, 'Lotta Fine Woman' was an enthusiastic, but perfunctory blues-rocker.   h lyrics were mildly entertaining, but you've probably heard hundreds of songs that sound just like this one.  rating: ** stars

- Sporting one of the album's most memorable melodies and some dazzling twin lead guitar, 'Arkansas' was th kind of song Levon Helms would have killed to have written.  Another slice of Americana that would have sounded wonderful on FM radio.   rating: **** stars

- With Walters handling lead vocals (he also wrote the song), 'Lead Me On' found the band dipping their collective toes into Gospel-tinged territory.  Not as immediately catchy as the rest of the album, this one grew on you after awhile and Harold Walters turned in a nice sax solo.   rating: *** stars

- Hum, Crane channeling Jon Lord and Deep Purple ???   Probably not, but the hard rocker 'Cry In the Night' sure sounded like they'd been listening to a bunch of English bands.  Maybe not the album's most original offering, but still fun.  rating: *** stars

- Kicked along by some punchy horns and a funky melody, 'Sign Your Life Away' found the band returning to their musical bread and butter ...   Another track that makes it hard to sit still.   rating: *** stars

- I've always wondered if tracks like the roaring 'Suite 16' served as and early inspiration for The Doobie Brothers (drummer Keith Knudsen was a member of the Hoodoo Gurus before joining The Doobie Brothers).  This wasn't sophisticated, cutting-edge art-rock, rather the kind of track that would have kept a biker club crown from throwing bottles at your head.   Great tune, though the sax solo wasn't necessary.

 

I'm not sure I'd call this their best album (the not might go to Rack Jobbers Blues"), but this is a great place to start a long term relationship with these forgotten heroes.

 

The album was tapped for a pair of singles.  In the US and much of Europe the 45 was:

- 1972's Too Hot To Handle'' b/w '???' (Blue Thumb catalog number BTA 220)

In West Germany the single was:

- 1972's 'Suite 16' b/w 'I was Wrong' (Blue Thumb catalog number 13 020 AT)

 

The band toured extensively in support of the album opening for an impressive array of acts ranging from Chuck Berry to The Tubes, but simply couldn't catch a break and once again the album did little commercially.

 

"HooDoo Rhythm Devils" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Truer Than Me   (Joe Crane) - 2:43

2.) Too Hot To Handle   (Joe Crane - J. Greenlease) - 3:03

3.) All Tore Down   (Joe Crane) - 3:27

4.) Eating In Kansas City  (J. Greenlease - Glenn Walters - R. Green - Roger Clark) - 3:09

5.) I Was Wrong   (Joe Crane) - 4:00

 

(side 2)
1.) Lotta Fine Woman   (Joe Crane) - 2:44

2.) Arkansas   (Joe Crane - Glenn Walters) - 2:27

3.) Lead Me On    (Glenn Walters - B. Seebo) - 4:30

4.) Cry In the Night   (Joe Crane) - 2:28

5.) Sign Your Life Away   (Joe Crane) -3:06

6.) Suite 16   (Joe Crane) -2:50

 

 

Sadly, in 1980  Crane died of leukemia. 

 

Walters is still active in music and has a web presence at:

http://www.glennwalters.com/index.html

 

 
There's also a nice Hoodoo fan site at:
http://www.hoodoorhythmdevils.com/
 

 

 

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