Southern Culture on the Skids

OK, so you’re firin’ up the grill and inviting a few rowdy friends over for some barbecue and brew. Attention spans will be short, spirits high. There’s no doubt about it, you need a SCOTS album to throw on at the crucial moment between needing to dance and needing to holler “Yeah!” as loud as you can. The band’s latest offering fits the bill perfectly. Recorded live with a home-court advantage at Chapel Hill, N.C.’s, Local 506, the 16 songs span SCOTS’ 25-plus years of putting out great party records and tearing up stages all over the world. Rick Miller’s guitar is a never-ending stream of hot licks drawn from surf, blues, country, soul and his own musical imagination. The six-minute opus “Banana Pudding” packs enough lascivious licks to fuel a dozen make-out sessions, and bassist Mary Huff and drummer Dave Hartman just egg Miller on by supporting and enabling every kink he decides to throw in. If anybody’s still sittin’ by the time “Meximelt” starts tearing up your speakers, check their pulse.