CD Review: Warner E. Hodges’ Absolutely (2026)

Warner E. Hodges will forever be known as the flamethrowing guitarist for Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, the rowdiest bunch o’ rockers to make a run out of the Music City. But since the Scorchers called it quits after 2010’s criminally-overlooked Halcyon Times, Hodges has applied his talents to a number of outfits, including veritable Nashville pick-up band the Disciples of Loud, his own Warner E. Hodges Band, the Bluefields, and solo albums he’s released under his own name. At this point in his career, Hodges has released more albums apart from the Scorchers than with that legendary band, but none of them have reached the peaks of Absolutely, the latest entry in the Hodges’ musical canon. 

Warner E. Hodges’ Absolutely

Absolutely was recorded with the crème de la crème of alternative Americana, roots-rock, or whatever you want to call it this week – longtime Hodges’ friends Joe Blanton (Royal Court of China, The Bluefields) and Dan Baird (The Georgia Satellites, The Bluefields), bassist Keith Voegele (The Bottle Rockets), pianist Pete “Wetdawg” Gordon (Mojo Nixon & the Toad Liquors), and drummer Mauro Magellan (The Georgia Satellites, Dan Baird & Homemade Sin). The excellent results speak for themselves. The album’s title track is a swaggering rocker co-written by the street-smart and savvy artistic conglomeration of Baird, Eddie Spaghetti and ‘Metal’ Marty Chandler of the Supersuckers, album producer Blanton and, of course, Mr. Hodges himself. Although I generally frown or dismiss committee-written songs as they, well, as a rule suck, but this is one tasty lil’ sucker that, given the rock ‘n’ roll pedigree of all involved, is guaranteed to raise the roof wherever played. 

Warner E. Hodges

The rock keeps on rolling with the Baird/Blanton/Hodges tune “Get Outta Town,” which features some stellar, razor-sharp Hodges’ fretwork and propulsive rhythms courtesy of Magellan and Voegele. The performance downright threatens to jump out of the grooves to grab you by the throat with just the right amount of musical menace. The rockabilly-tinged “Here Comes My Baby” swings like tire hanging from an oak tree, with Warner’s trembling, Duane Eddy-styled guitar licks juiced up by a jaunty backbeat and walking bass line while “When My Baby’s Blue,” a sort of sequel that amps up the guitar, pumps up the percussion, takes on a lightning bolt of confidence and draws from the energy of the jump blues to deliver a stunning tour de force. Warner’s vocals here really adapt to the song’s needs, which is a sort of metallic cross between hard rock and harder rhythm and blues, with plenty of blazing guitars and cacophonic instrumentation to launch the song into the stratosphere.

The twangin’ ‘n’ bangin’ “Good Company” is hard-edged Americana with just a hint of Scorchers sitting on the fringe, the loping rhythms complimented by a delightfully melodic chorus, harmony vocals hiding in the mix and, naturally, Warner’s incendiary guitarplay, which echoes ‘70s styled Southern rock while incorporating flashes of country stringplay. The album slows down for the first time with the mid-tempo stomp ‘n’ stammer of “North Star,” a bluesy ‘70s-styled hard rocker reminiscent of Texas rocker John Nitzinger, if only for the song’s six-string pyrotechnics, with the fluid solo around four minutes into “North Star” a thing of innate beauty. The serpentine “Carried Away” could have easily slotted into the mid-to-late ‘80s L.A. “hair metal” scene, something that Royal Court of China made a run at, with Warner’s growled, somber vocals thrown up against a semi-metallic soundtrack of dueling, swashbuckling guitars, explosive percussion, and an overall musical chaos grounded and saved from veering towards absurdity by Warner’s occasional twangy vocal lapses. 

Hottest Thing In Town

Warner E. Hodges, guitarslinger

“Individually” brings the band back to Nashville with a country-flavored rocker that choogles along like a cross between Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Scorchers with a touch of booger-rock rhythms, but an effective chorus and Warner stretching out his vocals with a challenging lyrical arrangement. By contrast, the punch-drunk “Happy Wife, Happy Life (Nothin’ Rhymes With Husband),” written by Blanton, but sounding like something Shel Silverstein or John Prine would have penned, is knocked out of the park with Warner’s tongue-in-cheek vocal delivery, which imparts timeless wisdom above rollicking throwback country instrumentation like Gordon’s piano (and accompanying old school honky tonk harmony vocals). At times, Warner’s vocals here sound eerily like his former bandmate Jason Ringenberg, which is to be expected as the two ran the roads together for a couple of decades. 

Warner had a friendly relationship with late outlaw country legend Billy Joe Shaver and his late guitar-slinger son Eddy, so it makes perfect sense to cover “Hottest Thing In Town,” from Shaver’s 1993 album Tramp On Your Street, as a sort of tribute to the pair. Hodges affords the song a raucous, country-rock performance with a red hot guitar solo that surely would make the younger Shaver smile. Magellan’s drums cascade through the speakers like cars piling atop each other in a trainwreck, and the overall dense squalls of instrumentation make for a helluva good time. Absolutely closes out with the slower-paced “Still Got A Ways To Go,” a searing sorta-ballad with emotional vox, bluesy guitars, syncopated percussion, and an overall Allman Brothers/Creedence Clearwater Revival vibe that finishes up the album with a sizzling slow-burner of a performance.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Hodges may be best-known for his genre-bending, forward-thinking performances with his former band, but put aside the onstage gymnastics and the larger-than-life persona and consider the man’s imaginative and creative guitarplay and you’ll find an artist that stands quite tall on his own merits. An overlooked instrumentalist, and a dynamic performer, Hodges’ recordings – none of which have been released in the United States (save for the first, self-produced and limited edition Disciples of Loud CD) – have only found an advocate in Mick Brown and his U.K. based Jerkin’ Crocus (JCPL) label, which is likely why Hodges has found an enthusiastic European audience. Wake up U.S. labels – there’s a market for these guitar-driven roots-rock sounds that eschew autotuned vocals or A.I. generated soundtracks. Absolutely is the stone cold real deal, hand delivered by Warner E. Hodges and a gang of creative collaborators that are musically unimpeachable. (JCPL Records U.K., released February 5th, 2026)

Short Rounds: The Bluefields, Dave Clark Five, Marshall Crenshaw, Gary Moore, Gwil Owen & Watermelon Slim (2020)

New album releases in 150 words or less…

The Bluefields – Day In the Sun (Underground Treehouse Records)
Veterans of Nashville’s country and rock scenes, the Bluefields include singer Joe Blanton (Royal Court of China), guitarists Warner Hodges (Jason & the Scorchers) and Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites), and drummer Brad Pemberton (Steve Earle). Day In the Sun is the band’s fourth album, their first in six years, and the Rev is here to tell you that it’s a real slobberknocker! The band achieves a solid, often funky groove on songs like “Bottom of the Barrel” and “Somewhere Down the Road” on top of which Hodges lays down his shimmering leads. Blanton is a soulful shouter with a hint of twang shaping his vocals as on “Born To Let You Down,” an unbridled rocker that hits your ears like a freight train teetering off the tracks. Offering a rib-ticklin’ meat ‘n’ taters buffet, Day In the Sun provides a musical feast for long-suffering fans of Southern rock ‘n’ roll. Grade: A   BUY!

Dave Clark Five – All the Hits (BMG)
British rocker Dave Clark was years ahead of his time in business savvy, holding onto all of the DC5’s rights long before most bands realized that their record labels could (and would) do them wrong. This has resulted in a deficit of DC5 reissues, and although beat-to-hell copies of old Dave Clark Five LPs can be found easily enough, it’d be nice to reintroduce this stuff to a new century. Hopefully All the Hits is the first salvo in a full-fledged reappraisal of this important British Invasion band’s legacy as the only outfit to serious challenge the Beatles for chart supremacy. More popular stateside than at home, the DC5 scored hits like “Glad All Over,” “Bits and Pieces,” “Any Way You Want It,” and “Over and Over” between 1964 and 1967, all of which are among the 16 red-hot tracks included here. It’s time to rediscover the Dave Clark Five! Grade: B+   BUY!

Marshall Crenshaw – Miracle of Science (Shiny-Tone Records)
The first in a series of reissues of Marshall Crenshaw’s 1990s-era Razor & Tie albums (on Crenshaw’s own Shiny-Tone Records label), Miracle of Science finds the rock icon expanding his signature power-pop sound in pursuit of a wider musical palette. Mostly recorded in Nashville with talents like Bill Lloyd, Brad Jones, and Pat Buchanan manning various instruments, Miracle of Science ranges from the shimmery, Smithereens-styled pop of “What Do You Dream Of?” and the honky-tonk flavored “Who Stole That Train” to Crenshaw’s trademark power-pop on “Starless Summer Sky.” A cover of Grant Hart’s “Twenty-Five Forty-One” is spot-on, the gorgeous soundtrack emphasizing the lyrics while oldie “The In Crowd” offers an imaginative blend of the song’s jazzy roots with bluesy overtones. I could do without the backwards “Seven Miles An Hour,” though. Criminally underrated when it was originally released, Miracle of Science will appeal to the discerning rock ‘n’ roll aficionado. Grade: A-   BUY! 

Gwil Owen – Flying Dream (Rambler Records)
Nashville’s Gwil Owen has been making great music in the Music City since the 1980s with bands like Fur Trade and the Thieves. For Flying Dream, he’s assisted by the cream-of-the-crop of local talent like guitarist Will Kimbrough, multi-instrumentalist Jim Hoke, and singer Brydget Carrillo, whose heavenly backing vox balance Owen’s whip-smart lyricism. Gwil’s no slouch in the musical department, and his instrumental talents shine throughout Flying Dream. It’s Owen’s sense of melody, however, combined with his skill as a wordsmith and the ability to create in various musical styles that make the country, rock, and blues of songs like the twangy rocker “I Would Lie” (with greasy Kimbrough guitar); the jazzy, eclectic “Hamster Wheel” (written with the late David Olney); or the soul-infused “Moth Without A Flame” (think Memphis 1970) stand out even in a city rich with talent; Owen is one of the best Nashville has to offer. Grade: A   BUY!

Gary Moore – Live From London (Provogue Records)
Guitar wunderkind Gary Moore left us too soon in 2011 at the too-young age of 58 years but, as proven by the 2009 show documented by Live From London, Moore was still performing at an impressively high level. Over a career that spanned five decades, Moore explored blues, jazz, hard rock, and heavy metal styles and all are represented to some extent on Live From London, but it’s Moore’s affinity for the blues which resonates the loudest. The guitarist imbues original material like the melancholy “Still Got the Blues” or the beautiful, flowing instrumental “Parisienne Walkway” with unbelievable amounts of emotion and energy. Choice covers like Otis Rush’s “All Your Love,” J.B. Lenoir’s “Mojo Boogie,” and a particularly heartfelt reading of Al Kooper’s “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” are all painted various shades of blue and, as showcases for Moore’s immense talents, perfectly display his peerless abilities. Grade: A-   BUY!

Watermelon Slim – Traveling Man (Northern Blues Music)
For decades now, Watermelon Slim (a/k/a Bill Homans) has been one of the great, underrated talents of the blues. He’s not a soul crooner or a flash guitarist or a slick stylist, but Slim is a helluva songwriter and a fine slide-guitarist and his raw vocals are perfectly suited to his poetic, slice-of-life lyrics. The double-disc Traveling Man is Slim’s first live album, just the man and his guitar and the occasional blast of harmonica, and the solo setting does justice to lively and effective performances of gems like the Delta-inspired “Blue Freightliner,” the unique perspective of “Let It Be In Memphis,” and the haunting “Devil’s Cadillac.” Slim’s Okie patois imbues the songs with an undeniable authenticity while his erudite working-class blues strikes a chord with almost any listener. If you’re not familiar with the talents and charms of Watermelon Slim, Traveling Man is a great place start! Grade: A+   BUY!

Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, February 2020: Beach Slang, The Bar-Kays, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Delaney & Bonnie, Mott the Hoople, Television Personalities
 
Short Rounds, January 2020: The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dana Gillespie, Manfred Mann, Mick Ronson, An A-Squared Compilation
 
Short Rounds, December 2019 (Holiday Gift Suggestions): Cindy Lee Berryhill, Black Pumas, Alice Cooper, Robyn Hitchcock & Andy Partridge, Handsome Dick Manitoba, The Muffs, Harry Nilsson, The Rosalyns, Bobby Rush