Moses Mo: Drive-In ‘n’ Amplifyin’

Mother’s Finest have made a now-50-year career out of marrying funk music with hard/heavy rock ‘n’ roll. It was a formula that was super-fresh in the 1970s, but ever since coming back in the late ‘80s after a brief hiatus, everything they’ve done has sounded like misguided attempts to fit in with something trendier or more popular at the time, be it Paula Abdul or Living Colour.

Founding guitarist Gary “Moses Mo” Moore, who to this day resembles a disheveled skinny chicken, keeps the funk heavy on Drive-In, his latest album with his latest group, flippantly dubbed The Real Cool Band. Aside from rare jarring detours such as country weeper “Misses Everything,” rapper Zero Basement brings a lyrical aggressiveness to the forefront that at least brings the timeline of influences up to the mid 1990s, which tends to makes it sound like a bunch of old folks trying to catch up to 20 years ago. But there’s a wide-open playfulness and sense of humor to their approach that has the potential to win over the more adventurous types in aging Mother’s Finest devotees. Not being dismissive, that’s just the audience most likely to give this a shot. Moore’s a smokin’ hotshot/fun-to-watch guitarist, and Drive-In is not that far removed from the classic Mother’s Finest sound – in fact, it’s exceedingly more entertaining to listen to than anything that band’s released since the late ’70s.

Digital and streaming versions of Drive-In are available online at the usual outlets. CDs and newly-pressed vinyl editions are available for purchase on the website (mosesmo.com) and at live shows – remember those? As of now, these guys have one scheduled for April 11 at The Carrollton Forum, but the way things are going there’s no telling at this point if it’ll actually happen.