Like Hootie before him, Garrett “G. Love” Dutton is goin’ country, dropping G’s on a whim on “Fixin’ to Die,” his most strident effort yet without the aid of the Special Sauce.
Produced by Scott and Seth Avett, the record is perfectly serviceable roots Americana, and not as far a cry as you might think from G. Love’s rust-pop staples “Philadelphonic” and “Yeah, It’s That Easy.”
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It also drops at a fashionable time for the genre, and thus smacks more of a savvy than creative risk for the mostly reliable blues man.
Fans in Maine can hear what G. Love has live on Friday at his Maine State Pier concert. Go to statepier.com for tickets.
G. Love still does small better than big. The close-quarters boogie-woogie of “Get Goin’ ” or the back-porch whistler “Heaven” play much stronger than the over-bombastic title track, a bust-out-the-gates anthem covering legend Bukka White, here with more horsepower than G. Love can or should command.
Breezy ballads like “Walk On” and “Home” are sweet enough but feel generic compared to the silly, fun ode to coffee, “Milk and Sugar.”
Country-blues is a perfect fit for G. Love’s famous quirky warble, and an obvious expansion of his performing palette. (His amazing harp work alone gives him a ticket in the door.)
But with The Avett Brothers’ stomp-clap radio-pop stylings running the show, something of G. Love’s understated subtle charm is lost. It’s a shame when the set succumbs to saccharine; he has too much unique talent to try to play by the rules.
Mike Olcott is a freelance writer who lives in Portland and Boston.
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