Southern Gentlemen – Exotic Dancer Blues (2000)

For those whose tastes run from ZZ Top to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Robin Trower, with splashes of Jimi Hendrix here and there, this unabashed bag of 1970s power blues rock will be lots of fun. Featuring David T. Chastain on guitar and vocals, with a bump-and-grinding rhythm section of bassist Kevin Kekes and drummer Dennis Lesh, the album's 13 original songs showcase a world of topless bars, indiscriminate seductions, and drunken dreams with enough vigor and verve to drive the band's dated sound home. Chastain, who confesses to an "addiction" to exotic dancers, is at his gritty, growling best on "What to Do," "Don't Be Shy," and the title tune, "Exotic Dancer Blues." A step beyond the unexceptional is provided by "Time Traveler," which ponders the singer's previous lives, according to his regression therapist. Really. "I should've done this CD years ago," laments Chastain. He needn't worry. It sounds old enough. --Alan Greenberg