From Gearhead 17, out now:
Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders
Holdin' Onto Troubles Hand
(Rankoutsider Records)
Our old pal Pat Todd, best known as the guy that fronted The Lazy Cowgirls for more years than many of us could ever hope to remember, is back with a tight band and more importantly, a slew of great new songs, so listen up! Material wise, this is pretty much what you might expect; a few balls-out tunes designed to make the audience break a sweat, some very listenable (and thought provoking) mid-tempo rockers, and a couple of country twinged "cryin-in-my-beer" ballads, but like the last few Cowgirls records, it somehow all works together in perfect harmony. Of course it takes a top-notch songwriter to pull that off, and although fame has pretty much eluded our hero, folks in the know have always held Pat and his music near to their hearts.
I remember a conversation I had with Pat a few years back where he very candidly relieved his musical aspirations to me. As you might imagine, it was a bit heartbreaking, but the main thing I came away with was at sense of awe at his sheer determination. Even as he approached and passed fifty years of age, it was clear that he would never give up on rock and roll, and you'd have to already be dead not to be inspired by that. I recall that at one point Pat said, "Why can't I be on the Tonight Show?" and honestly I couldn't think of any reason why he shouldn't be. OK Mr. Leno, I've heard that you read Gearhead, so if you see this, give the brother a break. For once I'd love to see success go to the short, bald and thoroughly enjoyable guy's address, Christ knows he deserves it, you literally can't pay any more dues than he already has. This CD has 20 tracks by the way, well worth whatever they're asking for it at rankoutsiderrecords.com. (Mike LaVella)