Concord

Like their mentor Robert Randolph, The Slide Brothers may have started out in the sacred steel tradition, but this debut is likely to frighten the bejesus out of the church elders. While gospel is most assuredly at the root of this 11-songer, the quartet – Calvin Cooke, Chuck Campbell, Darick Campbell and Aubrey Ghent – find as much comfort in the blues of Elmore James and the rock of The Allman Brothers Band and George Harrison as they do from the spirituals. The Allmans’ “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’” and Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” kick it off, steel guitars a-blazin’, and
although they soon take refuge in inspirational staples like “Wade in the Water” and “Motherless Children,” their thrashing drums and snarling guitars explain their message. “Praise You,” featuring a wailing Shemekia Copeland vocal, is powered by battling, screaming twin guitars that would have done Duane and Dickey (or Derek and Warren) proud.