- I'm Working on a Building
- Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning
- Stranger Won't You Change Your Sinful Ways
- I'll Remember You, Love, in My Prayers
- You're Gonna Be Sorry
- What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul
- He's a Mighty Good Leader
- When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again
- Everybody Ought to Pray Sometime
- I'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge
- A Lifetime Without You
Though the Seventy Sevens started their own record label nearly ten years ago, they've been slow to release new projects since their full-length
There's always been a blues streak to the Northern California band, which began in the early '80s by embracing new wave. But this time around the Seventy Sevens have clearly and fully embraced their American rock roots with
The result is an album of covers that resonate with hope, sadness, confession, and redemption, performed with a rawness that approaches the Seventy Sevens' live sound (naturally, since it was recorded on the fly in just three days), reminiscent of classic acts like the Stones ("I'll Remember You, Love, in My Prayers"), The Byrds (the jangly "What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul"), and Elvis Presley ("When My Blues Turns to Gold Again"). The jammin' rhythm section of Harmon and Spencer is flawless and effortless throughout, but it's Roe who shines brightest with his scorching guitar chops and his familiar California rock whine.
A.C. Carter's "Working on a Building" is the inspiration for the title track, a call for redemption and purification performed as rockabilly-gospel. The band turns Skip James' "He's a Mighty Good Leader" into a quieter acoustic waltz—not unlike Roe's work with The Lost Dogs—putting more emphasis on the invitational lyrics, and the bluesy "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning" works as a modern day spiritual based on Jesus' parable from