Search - Radio Kings :: It Ain't Easy

"It Ain't Easy" is just the first album from the Radio Kings, but the Boston quartet already knows something the majority of blues-revival bands have never learned: The key to the blues is not the flamboyant gesture but the solid groove. Guitarist Michael Dinallo isn't interested in showing how many notes he can play or how far he can bend his strings; instead he concentrates on locking his sharply defined chords into the brisk syncopation created by bassist Dave Clarke and drummer Frosty Padgett. And Brian Templeton is smart enough to fit his vocals and harmonica solos into the rhythmic contours set by his bandmates. The results sound very much like the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the best fulltime blues band of the '80s. In fact, Templeton's baritone drawl sounds uncannily like Kim Wilson's. This similarity is a tribute to the Radio Kings' good taste as well as to their skills, but it also suggests they haven't yet transcended their influences to forge a personality of their own. Dinallo, Clarke, and Templeton all contribute to the songwriting, and while they're all accomplished riff-makers, none of them is much of a lyricist. Templeton straps on an accordion for three zydeco-influenced songs, and he sings a duet with guest Little Milton on "Count the Days." The best numbers, though, are the uptempo houserockers, such as "This Love," "Game Over," and the title track. --Geoffrey Himes