Rich Wisdom - Hot Chicken Wisdom  (click on image to watch video)

 25 December 2019

If you have ever yearned for music that weds the Southern Boogie style of Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top to Chicken-centric narratives, Rich Mahan’s new album, “Hot Chicken Wisdom” might be the answer to your prayers.

A California native, Rich grew up digging the Blues, Garage Rock and British Mod music with equal intensity. But it was the Grateful Dead expanded his musical horizons, that journey eventually landed him in Nashville. His debut, “Blame Bobby Bare,” arrived in 2012, now he’s just released a follow-up, Hot Chicken Wisdom.”

Opening with the Dixie-Fried bluster of “Boots Off,” Rich proves that even carnal conquistadors remove their footwear, if a conquest is in the offing.  Humor is on full display with the slinky Samba of “Daydrinking,” as well as the herbal sing-a-long, “I Smoke Pot.”  Meanwhile, “Tick On My Taint” is an arch Cha-Cha-Cha that tells the tale of a perineum parasite; “Just another inch forward, and it would have got the best of me.”

From the smoking shuffle of “Hot Chicken & An Ice Cold 40” to the Stonesy “Exile”-era groover “Stoned As A Roman Slave” and the high-stepping’ “Coffee In The Morning,” Rich proves adept at tackling a plethora of styles. But he acquits himself nicely on a trio of trenchant covers. There’s a loping take on the Dead’s “Loose Lucy” then he recasts the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody” as Gospel/Country/Blues.

Finally, in a shout-out to his  Cali roots he offers up a willowy version of  “Open Up Your Heart” from L.A. legend, Chuck Prophet. “Hot Chicken Wisdom” is a wily romp. The puns are fun, but it would be really interesting to hear Rich Mahan drop the comical façade and dig a little deeper. That’s an album I really want to hear.

Eleni P. Austin - I was born into a large, loud Greek family and spent my formative years in the Los Angeles enclaves of Laurel Canyon and Los Feliz. My mother moved us to the Palm Springs area just in time for puberty and Disco.  I have spent over 40 years working in record stores, starting back in High School.

I wrote music reviews for the Desert Sun from 1983 to 1988. I began doing the same for the Coachella Valley Weekly in 2012.

I live in Palm Springs with my wife and our amazing dog, Denver. 

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