Sleeping Dog follows up the 2022 Tightrope Ride album by guitarist/songwriter Rick Shaffer. The album returns to action on his 12th solo album, with sound, ideas and the ability to surprise and upend expectations, with Shaffer’s unique Garage/Blues sound.
The same musical elements remain filtered through a late 60’s and 70’s, with a Psych/Blues atmospheric, big, loud and savage feel. The tracks Short Straw, Here Now, Please Stay, and Last Refuge represent this best. The dark atmospherics and metallic guitar sounds maintain the ever present distortion, room echo and rough edges to Shaffer’s production. These tracks are built on a dark potent groove, fragmented guitars and mangling guitar leads. A vocal narrative, in the Iggy Pop/Jim Morison styling’s as a lyricist and vocalist Shaffer’s approach is both primal and hypnotic.
The tracks Same Game, Road to Ruin, See it Burn, and Bogalusa are hard rocking interplay, with loose infectious high octane rock and roll and incredible riffs and solos. The vocals and lyrics are primal confessions delivered, from the void. While Bogalusa, the popiest song on the album, is a rhythm and blues 60’s rockers sound, from the Stones December’s Children era.
Tolling Bell and Round And Round are in the thick swampy undertow that has always been a part of the Shaffer sound, and the heavy foot stomp of the Motor city rhythm section of Teddy Rixon on bass, and Stevie Carlisle on drums, deliver the power and spirit .
I think, for musicians, poets and artists in general they just keep exploring their own field and, if you’re popular go with it, and if you go out of favor just keep doing it. This is the “Mr. Mojo Risen” mantra Shaffer has lived by.
Last Refuge . . .“You don’t push no river, You keep chopping that wood.”
∎ Tarock Music, September 23, 2023
