Search - Treat Her Right :: Anthology: 1985-1990

Anthoney D. (AntGiant3000) from CANTON, OH
Reviewed on 11/26/2006...

Very good!! 5 Stars *****

GREAT UNCONVENTIONAL BLUES BAND

Patrick Earley | Edmond, Oklahoma USA | 05/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I heard about the recent death of Mark Sandman, it got me to thinking about this Treat Her Right Anthology CD I bought a few years ago. This is a band that Sandman and Bill Conway started in the mid-80's before they went on to bigger things with the alternative rock band Morphine. I've never been a fan of Morphine, but I've always cherished this best of from Treat Her Right, which is much different from the sound of Morphine. The best way I can describe this band's sound is alternative blues that falls somewhere between Muddy Waters and The Doors if they were around today and playing the blues. This was a very unconventional blues band in both their sound and in the instruments they used. Mark Sandman, instead of playing the bass, played what he called a low guitar, which was a six string run through an octave divider, which really gave this instrument an interesting sound. The band started as a house band in a irish pub in Boston. This bar's owner didn't allow a drum kit, so the drummer used to beat on the railing until one day he found a coctail drum, which is a single deep Tom Tom with a foot pedal accessorized with a cowbell a tambourine, and one cymbal. All played while standing up. This little drumkit also played a big part in the THR sound. Not to be forgotten here is the fine subtle slide guitar playing of Dave Champagne, who also cowrote all these songs with Sandman. And the wailing harp of Jim Fitting that's prominent throughout this album. THR always insisted on never having any studio gimmicks when recording their albums. There is no overproduced music here, just great tunes that stand up well on their own. It's hard to name a favorite song here. There'll all very different from each other, using different influences such as country, blues, jazz, funk, and even a little rockabilly, as in the songs "TIED TO THE TRACKS", and a rousing cover of Captain Beefheart's "HIT A MAN", in which you can tell the band pours their hearts out here. The opening song I THINK SHE LIKES ME also reaches out and grabs you. If you don't like this one, you probably won't like Treat Her Right, because this one pretty much defines their eccentric sound. If you just like conventional blues you probably won't like this album. If your strictly an alternative rocker you may not either. This is more for the open minded blues fan who appreciates excellent songwriting and good musicianship. These guys you could tell worked very good together and had good chemistry in both their writing and playing. It's too bad everything has to have a label on it, and their isn't a big demand for this type of music. I think it's interesting, and I'm a 47 year old blues fan. Treat Her Right was a great starving, and rebellious indie blues band who could definitley deliver the goods."