Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
What do you get if you cross The Rolling Stones with The New York Dolls and The Stooges? You get Universal Vagrant by Greg “Stackhouse” Prevost. Yes, you get 1000% attitude and pure pedal to the medal rock and roll. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but it comes at a time when finding people who play real rock and roll is almost nonexistent. And it sounds great. It is definitely meant to be played loud, really loud. Preferably with some accompaniments, if you know what I mean. Greg Prevost is a 40 year veteran of the music business and a founding member of the Rochester rock band, The Chesterfield Kings. This music isn’t a very far departure from the music of Prevost’s former band. In the immortal words of Bert Lance, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. I agree with those sentiments wholeheartedly. This is just good old fashioned down and dirty rock and roll, no more no less.
Highlights for me are Lord Shine A Light On Me (Track 7), a Prevost original that could have come directly off of Beggar’s Banquet or Exile. He certainly has his Stones’ chops down to a science. It makes for some good listening. Gin-Soaked Time Warp (Track 2) is another great tune that seems to be a mix of New York Dolls and Stones. Just a great song that is easy to listen to and demands being played loud. Hayseed Riot (Track 9) is Dolls all the way. With all the sass and attitude that this song demands. It’s loud and dirty and is the embodiment of rock and roll. All of the songs are great and this album is destined to be a classic. Just aggressive music played loud, the way it ought to be.