Wet Willie
The Wetter The Better

"Guglielmino Bagnato" is the quirky name chosen by a quintet (+ two backup singers) from Alabama, very active discographically for much of the seventies and devoted to a southern rock decidedly directed towards soul and funky music. No layering and endless guitar solos, no drawling voice, in their place is a decidedly lively rock (almost like the album cover!) and certainly positively danceable, for those who enjoy it. In short, an easily accessible southern soul, not focused on solos and jams but on songs and voices, yet certainly not dismissible as simple pop music.

They are very skilled, starting with the singer, saxophonist, and harmonica player Jimmy Hall, a compelling rhythm&blues presence with a bright, versatile, energetic, and cheerful vocal delivery. His guitarist Ricky Hirsch wastes no time on solos and gets straight to the point, composing the majority of the repertoire and generally strumming at a steady pace with a fat and contagious funky sound. Also from the Hall family are bassist Jack and backup singer Donna; the lineup is completed by a drummer and a keyboardist, the latter also serving as the second lead vocalist, typically used for the more mellow tracks in the repertoire.

This is their fifth career album, dated 1976 and comprising eight tracks diversified into three funky tunes, two ballads, and three more distinctly southern numbers, roughly akin to the atmospheres of the Allman Brothers and the Marshall Tucker Band.

Of the three funkier tracks, the first "No no no" (nothing to do with the Deep Purple song of the same name) is a rock'n'roll with constant stops and restarts, which opens the album with a bang, instantly creating a lively and booty-shaking environment. The furious "Baby Fat" placed later is full of saxophones and trumpets, reminiscent of listening to James Brown. "Everything That You Do" finally revolves around a nice bass line, more esoteric and relaxed, a little less black in style.

The two ballads are sung by the pianist of the formation Michael Duke, with his much rounder and sly vocal tone compared to the dynamic soul style of the frontman. Both are quite melodically consistent, achieving the goal of breaking an otherwise frantic and frenetic set list. The first, "Ring You Up," is more lyrical, with a short but intense sax solo; the second, "Everybody's Stoned," is more pop and crafty, placed at the farewell of the work.

The more centered southern rock portion of the album, as already mentioned, sees our band drawing near to other contemporary southern blues rock realities, without however embracing others' propensity for instrumental excess and never straying entirely from the strong rhythm&blues core of the project, a sensation always secured by Hall's black-style voice and the important role of the horns and gospel backup singers following suit.  

To fully appreciate this work, one must be an admirer of the black folks' point of view on music... yet even the most idiosyncratic rock enthusiasts towards "black" music cannot help but perceive and appreciate the energy, conviction, charm, energy, and earthy spirit with which Wet Willie conceive and perform their material.

This is black music played by white musicians... it might risk satisfying neither world, but personally, these borderline realities (Hall&Oates, Lenny Kravitz, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and many others come to mind) have always intrigued me.