keepers - 4
While the noodling that plagues most jam bands shows up right away on the instrumental "Don't Want You No More", it gets better. "It's Not My cross To Bear", just the second song in, is unimaginatively written even for blues, with the lyrics shoehorned into a generic gospel blues formula, and things don't look good. "Black Hearted Woman"**** has the blues progressions down, and that hippie shuffle, but also has energy and cool syncopated riffs that accentuate all the transitions perfectly. "Trouble No More"**** stretches out to suit the lyrics, setting up for a classic AB riff. "Dreams"**** is a bit of a grower, as there is a lot of hung-over contemplation to connect the parts, but its subtlety is pleasing. None of these prime cuts are adequate preparation for the menace and tension of "Whipping Post"***** which provides sufficient justification for a career of producing more noodles than Creamette.
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