Blood On The Bricks
Omnivore, 2025
10/10
The Pittsburgh legends Iron City Houserockers see their 3rd album, 1981’s Blood On The Bricks, on CD for the first time, and it comes with 11 bonus tracks, where frontman Joe Grushecky guides the band through Heartland rock tunes.
“Friday Night” starts the listen with Ned Rankin’s thumping drums that suit the flowing guitar and Grushecky’s smooth and husky pipes, and “Saints And Sinners” follows with Art Nardini’s lively bass adding much energy to the gritty, blue collar rock.
Later on in the original album, “Be My Friend” is a calmer moment where Eddie Britt’s warm guitar won’t go unnoticed, while the title track makes great use of Gil Snyder’s well timed keys amid the precise rhythm section. The outtake from this disc, “Let The Boy Rock”, is a rowdy bar rocker that uses Marc Weisman’s animated harmonica superbly.
Disc 2 consists of live tracks and demos. Of the live selections, “Watch Out” is an anthemic and timeless blast of powerful and dynamic songwriting, and, on the demo portion, “Jukebox Nights” allows for the fluid keys to guide the cautious and thoughtful landscape.
Grushecky states that Blood On The Bricks was the band’s most professional, competent and excellently-played record, and it’s hard to argue with that. The songs recruit Steve Cropper’s inimitable talents, and this proper release with top notch bonus material is further proof that Iron City Houserockers were gravely under appreciated and made their own version of rock that inspires many to this day.
Travels well with: Joe Grushecky And The Houserockers- Can’t Outrun A Memory; Joe Grushecky- Houserocker: A Joe Grushecky Anthology