(Shock)

Class? Depends on how you define it, I guess.

It makes sense for Dan Auerbach to be hired to produce this Tennessee outfit’s second album. After all, as the front half of The Black Keys, he knows something about belting out a down and dirty rocking blues, and he knows how to get to its greasy, unpretty essence quickly. And though the Black Diamond Heavies end up fleshing out the sound with extra bits and pieces like some bass guitar here, some horns there, they have no trouble banging the stuff out too – this 11-track set took a mere three days to churn through. Built around some seriously bashed drums and a variety of bothered keyboards, and topped off by James Leg’s worn-out, gargled rasp of a voice, it’s all about the rough’n’ready romp more than anything. At times, it falls in a messy heap – their cover of Ike And Tina Turner’s classic Nutbush City Limits is a stomper all right, but it pounds the song flat. Better (and more fitting) is their take on Model T Ford’s Take A Ride while the big surprise is how well Nina Simone’s Oh Sinnerman stands up to this assault. Sweaty originals like Loose Yourself and Numbers 22 complete what is a cranked-up if not exactly finely-tuned effort.  

**½

BILL HOLDSWORTH

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