Some of you may remember Pete Lawler as the usually grumpy, often intimidating bass player in Aussie folk-rock legends Weddings Parties Anything.
When Pete split from WPA, King Rooster was one of the various monikers he adopted (he was also Dr Pump in the Crazy Baldheads).
In this incarnation he was still a little rootsy, but much more in a swampy-boogie blues vein.
This feels like a solo side project, constrained by a very tight budget, but lovingly shaped with the help of some friends. Unfortunately, the sound is often a little murkier than even the genre justifies, and thus the album seems laboured and underdone.
Lawler sings on here, channelling a cool demeanour, somewhere between Richard Clapton and Tim Rogers. The energy is infectious.
I love that the album is so parochially Melbourne, with Footscray, Mordialloc and Brunswick St all prominent (along with a certain retailer on Ikea Blues).
If the TV show Gruen Transfer are ever looking for a new theme tune, they could do a lot worse than the wigged out Ad Man.
Sadly, I never saw Pete play this album, but I often delighted in his take on Xmas cheer (from his WPA days):
File under: I feel like chicken tonight
One Album a Day 