The last time I reviewed a G. Love album was at the height of my obsession with the Special Sauce. I gave the band\u2019s 2001 release, The Electric Mile<\/i>, four stars. That\u2019s about a B+ on the DV scale. <\/p>\n
Oops.<\/p>\n
Well, the album wasn\u2019t terrible, but it wasn\u2019t groundbreaking. It was pretty much standard post-1997 G sound and, in retrospect, I think others were right to treat it less enthusiastically. <\/p>\n
But, G still holds a special place in my heart. For a time I thought if I ever learned how to properly operate my guitar, I\u2019d sound like G. <\/p>\n
We share the same affinity for BBQ, blues, beverages (alcoholic and otherwise), fishing, sideburns and other assorted summertime props. We both spent some time on the back of a trash truck. I like Philly cheese steak. <\/p>\n
Those familiar with G\u2019s 10-odd-year legacy and unique hip-hop blues stylings will consider G. Love\u2019s Lemonade<\/i> a return to form. <\/p>\n
My favorite G is the one I saw perform in a Toledo pub with no more than 100 other people, the guy that rocked the Majestic in Detroit as I enjoyed an extremely illegal Rolling Rock (I was 17), the dude that serenaded me and my Albany-area college friends at some bar in an upstate strip-mall. <\/p>\n
I loved G for his sass, somewhat gritty production and frank depiction of chillin\u2019 (front porch and otherwise). Thanks to Lemonade<\/i>, I still do. The production is sleeker, but not as tight as the embarrassingly streamlined Hustle<\/i>, his 2004 LP and first without the Special Sauce tag.<\/p>\n
G goes straight for the fun on Lemonade<\/i> with opening cuts \u201cRide,\u201d \u201cAin\u2019t That Right,\u201d and lead single \u201cHot Cookin\u2019,\u201d which feature his patented groove that flows like a handful of ice cubes dissolving in your mojito.<\/p>\n
Ditto on the upbeat lament of \u201cMissing My Baby,\u201d which adds tasty fiddle flourishes and organ to the mix. The harp (harmonica) makes a welcome comeback on \u201cThanks And Praise,\u201d which reminds me of the to-my-younger-ears radical blues-rap infusion \u201cThis Ain\u2019t Livin\u2019\u201d from Special Sauce\u2019s 1994 debut.<\/p>\n
Also nostalgia-worthy is \u201cBreakin\u2019 Up,\u201d a carefully strummed, lo-fidelity heartache that recalls the darker acoustics that first captured me on tracks like \u201cI Love You Too\u201d from a rare promo EP and \u201cPull The Wool\u201d from his still-best Yeah, It\u2019s That Easy<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Sexy surfer\/singer\/songwriter Tristan Prettyman gives the duet \u201cBeautiful\u201d some hit-making potential, while \u201cStill Hangin\u2019 Around\u201d keeps with G\u2019s long-running tradition of closing albums with sappy \u201cI love you\u201d solo blues ditties, a nice touch. But, negative points for \u201cHolla,\u201d which reminds me too much of Hustle<\/i>\u2019s most egregiously mind-numbing track, \u201cBooty Call.\u201d<\/p>\n
G\u2019s aforementioned shows have always been the main reason I\u2019ll shell over $20 to see a performance (my first was $10 + Ticketmaster\u2019s bullshit \u201cconvenience fee\u201d), but Lemonade<\/i> leaves me anxious as ever to lounge with my front porch hero. The only true disappointment is that this wasn\u2019t released May 31, my unofficial kickoff to summer, as opposed to now in the season\u2019s twilight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":28431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[7779],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-39880","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-g-love","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39880"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39880"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}