Microwave Dave & the Nukes Last Time I Saw You If visions of potentially lethal sound rays are conjured, your assumption is right on. The incendiary blues guitar masher Microwave Dave Gallaher and his devastating Nukes will irradiate your body and soul with nourishing, life-affirming music. Born in Chicago, raised in Texas, served in Viet Nam, attended Berklee School of Music, mentored by Johnny Shines and lives in Alabama speaks of serious street cred for Gallaher. He formed the Nukes in 1989 and three years behind Jerry “Boogie” McCain and gigs backing Bo Diddley helped inform six previous house rocking albums. Last Time I Saw You continues the endless party as a healing proscriptive. With Rick Godfrey (bass, harmonica) and James Irvin (drums, percussion), Gallaher puts the “power” in power trio on the ten originals and two cover tracks (and one joke track) that are both intelligent and booty-shaking. The funky, chunky “Drinkin’ Wine Since Nine” is the hippest boozing song since “Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee” as Dave describes imbibing with wry humor and Irvin channels New Orleans legend Earl Palmer. The bopping shuffle “Jesus Was Smart” contains lyric content possibly never addressed before with Dave listing romantic complaints lodged against him before dropping the bomb, “Jesus was smart not to marry.” “I’ve Got a Bet with Myself” by David Elliot gooses the energy level and sonic assault with a roaring, pile-driving boogie that could have graced Exile on Main Street, while showcasing the “sock in the ear” rhythm section of Godfrey and Irvin. The melancholy ballad “The Worst Thing” proves that Gallaher cannot only melt the strings on his axe, but also caress them with sweet tenderness while soulfully crooning with heart-tugging emotion. The laconic, funky “Tire Man,” featuring Dave on drums and “Cigtone” cigar box guitar, uses the rubber on the road as a metaphor with a string of titillating double-entendres like, “I get high on your rack, baby, thinking I might get rotated.” The Gulf Coast/”second line”/Bo Diddley beat of Billy C. Farlow’s “Alabama Saturday Night” spotlights bass man extraordinaire Godfrey blowing squawky harp and Irvin drumming loose and limber. The title track shows Dave’s inventive rhythm/lead guitar playing and Irvin’s churning drumming produces a rocking cha cha beat with a sumptuous zydeco flavor. The funny 0.13 of a Dodge van winch on “Hydraulic Grind” precedes “All Nite Boogie.” Providing a tantalizing taste of the Nukes “live and sweating,” the relentless, breathless rave-up contains Dave and Irvin in the instrumental interludes sounding like the Who at their most explosive. The one-chord Hill Country “Goin’ Downtown” stomps like a plow horse breaking hard ground as Dave tantalizes the object of his desire with, “We’re gonna bark like a dog, jump like a frog, gonna eat like a hog, then we’ll sleep like a log, when we go downtown.” Stepping out of his master rhythm guitar persona, he pummels his strings with a couple of ear-bending, corkscrew solos. Maintaining the momentum, Dave next chugs and slides on his “Lowebow” guitar on “Cadillac Ride” in a classic road song. “Vagabundos” takes a left turn and arrives somewhere between “Malaguena” and Dick Dale with Dave singing in Spanish about “vagabonds.” From there it is a short step to the closing instrumental “Rafferty.” Reminiscent of Hendrix’ “Third Stone from the Sun,” it is a majestic two-chord composition with gentle melodies and dynamics that build to a dramatic, double-time climax. None other than author Stephen King has written about Microwave Dave: “…That electric slide guitar will change your way of life.” He might have added that the pure, positive exuberance of an exceptionally genuine blues cat and his band can provide the roadmap. Dave Rubin 2005 KBA winner in Journalism Veteran Deep South roots trio Microwave Dave & The Nukes delivers their seventh and most original disc to date in the late 2011 release, Last Time I Saw You. Leaning heavily on the blues by-products sector of their large repertoire, bassist Rick Godfrey, drummer James Irvin and Microwave Dave’s guitars and vocals propel their characteristic rhythm drive, energy and buzz, but with a touch of polish and studio finesse on ten originals and two covers that comprise the album. Two and three-chord songs without bridges abound on Last Time I Saw You. “Jesus Was Smart” originally appeared as a solo piece on Goodnight Dear but is given a contemporary country blues treatment here. A stomping “Goin’ Downtown” seeks to entice a significant other into a weeknight date, but “Drinkin’ Wine Since Nine” illustrates what happens when such an occasion lacks moderation with Microwave Dave’s blustery tone chasing a wobbly 1958 New Orleans shuffle through an intoxicated evening. Cigar box guitars texturize a sliding “Cadillac Ride,” the double-entendre laden “Tire Man” and Billy C. Farlow’s “Alabama Saturday Night” (with Rick Godfrey on harmonica). Rick’s title cut draws from the Nukes’ time spent backing Bo Diddley, bypassing the standard Bo beat in favor of his later-fifties cha cha style. “I’ve Got a Bet with Myself” (a Levon Helm Muscle Shoals gem) is entirely retooled into Tex-trio rock with Dave adding new lyrics, and “All Nite Boogie’s” aerobic shuffle storms its way onto the record having closed hundreds of MD&N live shows. Departures for the Nukes include surf-driven rocker “Vagabundos” sung in Spanish with a nifty drum feature from James, and “Rafferty,” a two-chord instrumental that sails through a suite of grooves before arriving at the huge finale that closes the disc. However, it’s “The Worst Thing,” a left-handed love song with sparkling guitar atop an arresting progression that is the most significant curve ball MD&N throws the listener on Last Time I Saw You.