Great Chicago Fire

Great Chicago Fire is a let-your-hair-down album of classic bar-band rock 'n' roll and country-western grooves, with a touch of Exile on Main St. in its looseness. In his usual role, Paul Burch is a carefully measured songwriter who excels at nailing down details with precision. Here, with The Mekons' Jon Langford spurring him on, he's another fine saloon singer playing in service to the celebration. It's a bit like an Irish wake, with rhythms swaying and the feel flowing toward the sentimental and the well-worn. Hints of Stones-like guitar drive "Monterey" and "Wrong Side of Love," while "Transfusion Blues" and "Cannonball" shuffle like Bob Dylan's electric band from Highway 61 Revisited. The cover of Dylan's "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" turns the old folk tune into a blistering stomper with striking guitar leads. The chemistry between the band and Burch is legitimate, and the title track's casual power makes a case for letting old pros follow their instincts.