It's A Stroke Of Good Luck That Brings Better Than Ezra Back

Better Than Ezra, you Cajun country rapscallions, where in the name of James have you been? You and I have been thick as thieves since you barnstormed onto the scene in 1995 with "Deluxe". That album produced your one and only Top 40 hit "Good". Personally I think "In The Blood" deserved friendlier reception at pop radio than it got but that's just one Ezra-o-phile's opinion. Next came "Friction Baby". I took a pronounced liking to the real deal New Orleans polish applied to such gems as "Desperately Wanting" and "King of New Orleans". The third release, "How Does Your Garden Grow" began your descent back into the shadows. I had a stiff belt of you three. I wanted to run up my tab some more. "Closer" didn't recharge your commercial popularity much. Admittedly you fell off my radar afterwards. Guess the previously asserted thick bond wasn't overly pasted together. They were halcyon days up until the post 2002 stretch. Were you to utter "What about 'After The Robots?' I'd either give you a blank stare, drool optional or ask not altogether tongue in cheek, "If the robots have taken over our planet how can we possibly be having this conversation?' Frankly "Paper Empire" sounds like the state of existence my writing desk is in at present. If only I had evolved enough as a two legged creature to figure out how to stage an overthrow. "Deluxe" scored based on its ability as a completed product to stage direct hits on the accessible side of the FM dial. To the band's financial disservice its cash till rang a little less loudly with each subsequent release. I am an art for art's sake chap so that small detail can easily be swept under the rug. Cut to 2014's "All Together Now" a release brought to us on The End Records. How amusing I do contend. "Crazy Lucky", the first scoop of New Orleans nectar from the album is very much the beginning of this group coming out of its amnesia where mixing up approachable yet spicy Gulf Coast material. This song wouldn't be out of place on a playlist including Maroon 5's "Maps". Solidly based in the adult contemporary camp. To add to that "Crazy Lucky" demonstrates lead vocalist Kevin Griffin, bass guitarist Tom Drummond, and drummer Michael Jerome didn't forget to let their hair hang down. There is the divine providence facet to the lyrics but it's offered in plucky fashion. No soapbox anywhere in sight. No revered classic church building. Kevin is way too in awe of the direction of Cupid's arrow. To be certain Better Than Ezra, as it has done repeatedly throughout its spine-tingling career knows team means everybody gets a chance to jam to the fullest. Kevin acknowledges that, as is probably true for the overwhelmingly large majority of us, the universe's way of shuffling the cards is way too complex for any one of us to grasp appreciably. We don't even get to use the commanding portion of our brains on any given day. I've always admired how Kevin's Nawlins enhanced voice would go well at Cafe Dumonde alongside a plate of beignets and some chicory coffee. You get what's as close to a music version of a Gulf Coast travelogue as you could want. The second Kevin croons to his full strength the Mississppi River appears. The Superdome imposes its masculinity in the distance. "Crazy Lucky" is Better Than Ezra's best chance in forever in regaining the fan base they cobbled together two decades prior. Because they lay off the Creole seasonings they by happenstance or design have succeeded in bringing to the conception stage a sun soaked beauty that smart programmers would be wise to snatch up hot off the press.