For those unaware, NRBQ’s 2014 album Brass Tacks is now out as a wondrous 10th Anniversary edition on LP, CD, and Digital, with updated art work and CD/Digital bonus tracks.

The New Rhythm And Blues Quintet formed over 50 years ago, and after playing together for a few years, the band began recording with Eddie Kramer and inked a two-record deal with Columbia Records.

Their eponymous debut appeared on shelves in 1969, featuring the band’s wide-ranging originals peppered with versions of songs from artists as wide-ranging as Eddie Cochran and Sun Ra, plus a co-write between the band’s Terry Adams and Jazz experimentalist Carla Bely.

It was, and is, a wildly original and influential release, and all these years later, their 2014 album Brass Tacks is now out as a wondrous 10th Anniversary edition via Omnivore Recordings.

If you look it up in your dictionary, you’ll find that “getting down to brass tacks” means to get down to some sort of serious business. But for NRBQ — in general, and specifically on this outstanding album from 2014 — it means getting down to the business of making unique, memorable music while also having some serious fun - excerpt from liner notes by John DeAngelis.

1. Waitin’ On My Sweetie Pie
2. Greetings From Delaware
3. Sit In My Lap
4. Fightin’ Back
5. It’ll Be Alright
6. Places Far Away
7. This Flat Tire
8. Can’t Wait To Kiss You
9. I’d Like To Know
10. I’m Not Here
11. Love This Love We Got
12. Getting To Know You
CD/Digital Bonus Tracks:
13. That Makes Me A Fool (Early Version) [Bonus Track]
14. Yes I Have A Banana [Bonus Track]
15. Radio Spot – Rhodes All Over The Map [Bonus Track]

Taking it from the top, and this was NRBQ’s third album since Terry Adams re-formed the group in 2011 and, in all truth, the group sounded more like the old NRBQ than ever, which was no bad thing back then.

I mean, given how great the band was, that is a mighty fine thing, I think we can all agree on that and here on Brass Tacks, the tremendously gifted singer, songwriter, and keyboardist is all fired up, along with his band mates, making the overall feel of the album sound and feel everything that was the band’s trademark vibe.

And so with most all of the songs Adams wrote recalling their classic musical ambiance, it is also the songs contributed by guitarist Scott Ligon and bassist Casey McDonough that also magically fit the band’s traditional template. I mean, it’s as if they had been channeling the spirits of Al Anderson and Joey Spampinato from the off. It’s just that good!

But aside from all that foundational stuff, NRBQ’s mix of rock ’n’ roll, jazz, and R&B is as singular and as satisfying as ever, and this wouldn’t sound out of place next to much of the classic line-up’s recordings; which is no small accomplishment.

As usual, Adams brought in a handful of sneakily witty tunes, including the ode to credit card debt Greetings from Delaware, the Sun Ra homage Places Far Away, and the rollicking I’m Not Here, while Ligon’s sweetly easygoing I’ll Be Alright is a gem and Jim Hoke of the Whole Wheat Horns contributes I’d Like to Know, a beautifully downbeat bit of lovelorn pop.

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