NRBQ

The excellent One in a Million DVD, released in 2004, featured NRBQ from a Montreal concert in 1989, while 2006 brought this DVD release, entitled Derbytown, of a 1982 show from Louisville, KY. As with the previous disc, this one is chock-full of great stuff from the perpetually indestructible group. Credited as NRBQ with the Whole Wheat Horns (a duo that toured with the band at this point in time), the version of the group here includes Joey Spampinato on vocals and bass; the great Al Anderson singing and playing guitar; Terry Adams on vocals, piano, and clarinet; and Tom Ardolino on drums. Spampinato's pretty and effective "I Love Her, She Loves Me" is wonderfully '60s, with Adams pulling out a tiny keyboard for something that sounds like it came off a Vanity Fare recording. It's followed by a driving "What's the Plot?," with Al Anderson singing like he's auditioning for Bachman-Turner Overdrive. That's a compliment. The 43-minute concert features a total of 13 songs; also included are a page of liner notes from Johnny D and three cool "bonus" selections that are brief but very fun. One of the bonuses is a mere 17-second a cappella entry "Program Them Computers" (Process the Data) with the gents wearing bags on their heads à la chef's hats and singing those six words. The 42-second "Atsa My Boys" promo film features the participants wearing the same attire and flinging pizza dough to harmonica accompaniment. Keep in mind, as musical as the fellows are, they've always made irreverence part of the equation. But perhaps the real nugget is a very cool though grainy three-minute-and-28-second TV performance of "Me & the Boys" live...well, a lip-sync "live" version with the band banging away with no amplification. It's a treasure for the hardcore fans of the New Rhythm & Blues Quartet, as is the concert itself. This is decent footage for the day, though not crystal clear, but what the film lacks in quality it more than makes up for with the spirit and performance of the group. The venue is packed and the band is solid as a rock. What more can an NRBQ fan ask for? ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide