From the very first notes, G. Love announces that this album isn’t going to be a laid-back affair. Guest guitarist David Hidalgo channels the blues-rock greats with some seriously fierce fretwork on the album-opening title track. This raw, gritty sound keeps on rolling through “Dis Song” and “That Girl,” with G. Love sounding more like vintage Steven Tyler than Jack Johnson. The songs here steer toward darker moods, with tunes like the bluesy vamp “Back To Boston,” the sample-laced “Baby Why You Do Me Like That” and the emotionally heavy closer “Lil’ Run Around” all addressing relationship woes. Love does lighten up some with a rollicking cover of Lead Belly’s “New York City,” where G. Love trades verses with Lucinda Williams, and the James Brown-style party anthem “Let’s Have a Good Time,” which features Ozomatli. It’s his collaboration with Citizen Cope on “Muse,” however, that stands out as the disc’s centerpiece. This entrancing tune suggests “Midnight Rider” filtered through hip-hop grooves and punctuated with soulful horns. It shows Love really stretching things out and making it all work. On Love Saves the Day, G. Love rocks harder than ever before and demonstrates he’s still going strong after 10 albums.