Steve Shark Qs Up Some Records Dept.

FT3 welcomes the Q to th' Blessed Isle - and Foam-O-Graph© captures the moment!

I’d heard [writes Steve Shark - Ed.] about NRBQ - (the) New Rhythm ‘N’ Blues Quartet/Quintet - for years before I ever actually listened to them. They meant nothing in the UK and their name suggested that they were just another R&B band playing the same old R&B.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, there’s some R&B, but there’s also pop originals, standards, a little country and even a bit of jazz, notably Monk and Sun Ra.

Steve wins hisself this swell trading card [left - Ed.] and a place in the sidebar - the internet's Pantheon!

The Q – as they’re often known – have been through several line ups over the past fifty years, but the quartet of Terry Adams, Big Al Anderson, Joey Spampinato and the late Tommy Ardolino produced most of their better-known work and lasted the longest – nearly 20 years. Adams hated the band being called “eclectic”, saying that to him it’s all just music, but what else can you call a band that plays “Shake, Rattle & Roll”, “The Music Goes Round and Round”, Monk’s “In Walked Bud”, “This Old House”, “Take This Hammer” and some snappy original pop ditties all in the same freaking set?

They could – and often did – play anything. For several years, they had what they called “The Magic Box” at the front of the stage and the audience was invited to post requests in it. One would then be picked at random mid gig and the band would play it. They had to – it was the law! Sometimes it was great…sometimes it was terrible…but it was always entertaining. Magic Box requests ranged from “Stop in the Name of Love” through “People” and “Spinning Wheel” to “Alone Again (Naturally)”, and several points in between.

So, who are the Q?

Terry is the bastard keyboard offspring of Monk and Jerry Lee Lewis, Joey makes his Danelectro bass guitar sound like a double bass, Big Al is a solid guitarist who really drives the band, and Tommy was just a superb drummer and always right in the pocket. Plus they all sing, although Tommy rarely did. During their heyday, they were augmented by The Whole Wheat Horns who were more than capable of going along with whatever the quartet was doing.

So, what do the Q do?

Be under no illusions, this isn’t a sophisticated sounding band. This is essentially a bar band, with all the fun and looseness that implies, and a vast repertoire (500 songs apparently) drawn from almost every type of popular music.

So, how do you hear what the Q do?

And therein lies the problem – how do you demonstrate to somebody the sheer range, exuberance and talent of such a band? The Q has released about fifty albums, both live and studio as well as compilations with unreleased tracks added, for a number of labels, which perhaps indicates that their record companies didn’t really know what to do with them and why they didn’t keep them on their rosters.

Someone (I don’t recall who but it might have been Gandhi) once said if you have a choice of albums, always go for the live one rather than the studio, and this holds very true for the Q. Fortunately, some of their best live shows are available -as bootlegs - and the one I’ve chosen for public consumption on Th' Isle O'Foam© is from a 1980 gig at The Surrey, Rosendale NY.

It has all the hallmarks of a classic NRBQ show – some rockers, some originals, some standards and an overarching sense of fun.

No matter what you listen to by the Q, the one constant is Terry Adams, a musician of rare brilliance, who also pursues a solo career with forays into jazz. Nowadays he’s the only original Q member left in the band and a lot of the fun seems to have gone out of the music lately. I gather the original members aren’t on very good terms, which is a great shame as they so very obviously enjoyed playing together.

So, that’s the Q. One of my absolute favourite bands, although I can understand totally why some people might not enjoy them. There’s just too much to digest at one sitting and they really don’t make the process easy for you. They’re like a strange “all you can eat” buffet where the platters are piled high with goodies, with something for everybody, but with no regard as to what dishes you eat together and in what order. However, if you can stand (or sit) to eat chicken legs off the top of a strawberry cheesecake, they may be for you.

Bon appétit!