Consumer Guide Album

Barrence Whitfield and the Savages: Ow! Ow! Ow! [Rounder, 1987]
Whitfield has yet to take a composition credit on three albums whose best originals are indistinguishable from the obscure old backbeat grooves and frantic novelties that are his trademark, but he's the auteur for damn sure--just replaced his entire band, with no trace of shift or slippage beyond the two overextended blues-soul showcases that lift him over the 30-minute mark. These are merely generic because the boss has no special gift for expressive sincerity--not on the order of his gift for backbeat grooves and frantic novelties, here written mostly by his new helpers, and I dare you to pick out the "real" one without reading the label. B+