Blues Music Review: Morry Sochat & the Special 20s - Eatin' Dirt - Galaxie Records 2010

Morry Sochat (pronounced Socket), the Texas transplant who settled in Chicago in 1990 and picked up the harmonica a decade later, may have his name first on the marquis; but I think it's a safe bet that he would tell you all of the members of The Special 20s fit together like the cogs of a machine, working in cooperation with one another to create something beautiful. Sochat is the charasmatic frontman in the band, and handles both harp and lead vocals. He is also their cheif songwriter, penning all but three of the tracks on the band's latest record, Eatin' Dirt.

The disc opens with that classic "Dust My Broom" slide Blues riff leading into the title track, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at the shoddy economy that we've all suffered from. That slide guitar is from Shoji Naito, who plays guitar throughout the album, along with harmonica on "Someone To Love." Harmonica and the horns are front and center later in the album, but are subdued here, giving Shoji a chance to shine, along with Ted Beranis on bass, and some great work on the kit by Marty Binder. "Eatin Dirt" was written by the band's bass player, Ted Beranis, who goes back and forth between upright and electric bass throughout the disc. Sochat picks up the harp to rip into the follower, "She's A Betty," which features some really boppin' horns, and John Kattke's rollicking piano. I can't help but picture this song absolutely blasting during a sock hop. I did some searching and found various different definitions as to what a "Betty" was. I always thought it meant a woman as beautiful as Bettie Page, and I certainly interpreted the lyrics of this song to reinforce my hypothesis. It could also apparently mean a woman as lovely as Betty Boop, or simply a hot chick. It's great stuff, regardless, so listen to the song and create your own interpretation.

The fellas take it down for "Someone To Love," not exactly getting one from the bottom and really slowing things down, but certainly bringing the tempo down a couple notches from "She's A Betty." In a great example of the live to tape aspect of Eatin' Dirt, you can hear Morry tell the engineers to "Keep it rollin'." The song gets counted off and the band digs in. As mentioned earlier, Shoji Naito squalls on the harp here. In addition, Sochat shifts his full attention to vocals and the horn section takes a break. Billy Flynn came into the studio to play guitar on the track. Flynn lends a wonderful knowledge of Chicago Blues, having traveled there from his hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin to play extensively for decades now.

The horn section comes back for the track "Meet Me In Chicago," which finds Morry singing about the beloved city while the horn section steps back in and Doug Corcoran lays down a beautiful trumpet solo. It's interesting to note that in addition to trumpet on the record, Corcoran plays keys, too. Since he's the only other person playing keys beside the aforementioned John Kattke on "She's A Betty," I'm interested to find out if at one point in "Meet Me In Chicago" Corcoran plays both trumpet and Blues piano at the same time. It would seem that one of three things happened: Corcoran, in an amazing display, played both simultaneously; he came back and layed one of the instruments down; or someone else played. No matter how it played out, the song sounds wonderful, and the solo is certainly a highlight.

There's an element of Otis Rush living in the Blues guitar on "Empty Pockets," what with that beautiful tone, and even in some of the guitar phrasing. The guitar for the song is provided by Dave Herrero, a young man with an impressive sound and an equally impressive resume. This slow burning ballad is layered richly behind the guitar, and Morry's vocals, with some additional dreamy guitar strumming, perfectly repeating horn fills, and some beautitul organ work that you're sure to miss if you're not paying attention. Morry picks his harp back up for "Apple of My Eye," an extremely well written and entertaining number. The song features some of the most front and center work on bass by Beranis, as well as some great back and forth between the harmonica and guitar.

"Natural Born Lover" begins with some familiar lyrics, "On the day I was born the nurses gathered around..." Sochat and the Special 20s do a great job of steering this away from being "Son of Bad to the Bone," and craft something altogether different and wonderful. The song details the growth of a surefire lady killer, as Sochat lays down the story song to perfection, while Doug Corcoran drops some of his best piano work onto tape. He keeps his momentum on the keys up for the band's take on the Don Robey penned "Mother-In-Law Blues." Eatin' Dirt's only other cover song is a crawling version of "Telephone Blues," co-written and performed by Blues great George "Harmonica" Smith, who wrote the song with Sam Ling (real name Saul Bihari.) The version is a wonderful tribute to the original, and doesn't stray too far from it's arrangement.

The remaining quarter of the tunes on Eatin' Dirt are all original numbers, penned by Sochat. The pounding party song, "Riot Up In Here," features producer Jimmy Sutton on guitar and is a slice of classic Rock 'N' Roll. Morry Sochat did a knockout job with the lyrics, and doesn't slouch on his harp, here, either. "Yo-Yo" is one of my favorite songs on the entire record. The slide guitar is the perfect compliment to the lyrics of the song, and the band deserves a huge pat on the back for this one. Just plain cool is how I'd describe it. Definitely worth checking out. I think I should take this chance to mention a pair of players on the record that I haven't yet given a call to. Jim St. Marie features on guitars throughout Eatin' Dirt and Chris Neal plays sax for the album. It all closes with "Fried Chicken & Waffles," a tune that could be considered a rousing instrumental closer, if not for Sochat coming in and simply singing the title from time to time, and adding a little wordplay at the end. This tune, which sees the entire band get a chance to step up to the plate and solo, defines the album overall: Pure Fun!

I fell in love with this CD at first listen. It seemed to me at the time like young cats playing an old school style of Blues, but not as though they were paying tribute to it; it was as if they actually lived it. They feel it. They exude a passion for this type of music they play and it seeps out of them onto tape and onto the stage. I look forward to what's around the bend for Morry Sochat & the Special 20s.

Standout Tracks: I love 'em all. Highlights include "Yo-Yo," "Eatin' Dirt," "Meet Me In Chicago," and "Apple of My Eye"

Links: Special20s.com Eatin' Dirt Facebook - Myspace

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