Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers (from the album Can’t Outrun a Memory

Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers (from the album Can’t Outrun a Memory

Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers (from the album Can’t Outrun a Memory available on Omnivore Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

Like Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, and Tom Petty, Joe Grushecky is a true example of a real heartland Rocker. His music rings with the grit, gusto, and authenticity of pure American Rock’n’Roll. The similarities to Springsteen and the E Street Band in particular are no accident. The two have frequently worked together on many of Grushecky’s projects in the past, evidence of the fact that The Boss is a fan, and has been since the beginning. 
 
A native of the blue-collar environs of Pittsburgh, Joe Grushecky’s first band, the Iron City Houserockers, effectively fueled his drama and dynamic, but since that band’s break-up, its successor, The Houserockers, ensure that there’s been no lapse in terms of the fire and fury. That’s immediately evident on Can’t Outrun a Memory, an album that shows, even after 45 years, Grushecky and company’s overt determination to the cause remains as intent as ever. Coming on the heels of Grushecky’s recent anthology, Houserocker, a 32 song, two-disc collection of offerings that trace his progress from the very beginning, it represents a new chapter of sorts, as well as a vivid summation of the band’s powers and prowess with no lapse in energy or intensity. “This Is Who We Are”, “Can’t Outrun a Memory”, “If These Hills Could Talk”, “Rocked My Soul”, and a riveting cover of the Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” come across as riveting, stadium-sized anthems that ring with the full fury that Grushecky and his colleagues are always so consistently capable of delivering. The latter is a rare cover, but it blends magnificently with the band’s ever-tenacious template. Likewise, “Here In ’68” recounts the events of that landmark year, both good and bad, and brings the circumstance full circle in exacting detail.


That said, as its title implies, Can’t Outrun A Memory takes its cue from the seeds of reflection about days that have long past. There’s a decided whiff of nostalgia evident in nearly every entry, a wish to return to the way things were, when fun, friendship, innocence, and adventure dictated all that one expected and encountered.

As Joe Grushecky sings in the title track,

‘When I hear  that soulful melody
It stirs something deep in front of me
It takes me back to a summer night
The world was young and the future bright
I prayed that it would never end
I  wish that we could go back when…’

With four bonus tracks to boot (a funky outtake titled “Leave Well Enough Alone,” a horn-infused version of the soulful “Sleeping Dog” and two acoustic takes on “Living In Coal Country” and “Here In ’68”), Can’t Outrun A Memory emerges as a stirring set of songs, commanding and compelling, but also bittersweet as well. Granted, there’s truth to the title, but when it comes to infusing honest emotion in everything he offers, Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers never fail to maintain momentum.  (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
Listen and buy the music of Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers from Omnivore’s website
 
For more information head on over to the Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers website