Dummy

Bonnie Raitt has called NRBQ (New Rhythm & Blues Quartet) “the best band in the universe.” The supremely talented, sweet and wacky band has been going for 35 years now, with Terry Adams (one of my favorite piano players, also on clavinet and vocals), brothers Joey and Johnny Spampinato (on bass and vocals and guitar and vocals, respectively), and Tom Ardolino (on drums). Dummy is the group’s latest lovable, insightful, at-times crazy collection of mostly original songs. Adams’ lyrics and signature singing on the title song and on “One Big Parking Lot” are priceless. From “Dummy”: “The media is my shepherd/ I shall not want/ It maketh me to lie down on green couches…/ It guideth me to the paths of ignorance/ And makes me gullible…” And “One Big Parking Lot” observes: “No matter how near/ No matter how far/ We’re all connected by a piece of tar…” Joey’s vocals on NRBQ’s countrified version of opera singer Mario Lanza’s “Be My Love” are typically sweet and guileless.