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From The CriticsCorner - April 22, 1998 Bob Malone Pumps Out A Great Record ****1/2 Though mostly compared to New Orleans characters like Dr. John, Bob Malone sounds more like a cross between Delbert McClinton and John Hiatt. He portrays the likeable rascal, raising hell with a twinkle in his eye, like McClinton, yet his songs are so well written, he's in Hiatt's league as a scribe. Surprised? Don't be. The only question I have is: why isn't this man on a major label? His 1997 release, The Darkest Part Of The Night, recorded in a single blowout session with a nine piece band and no overdubs, is the record that Little Feat have been trying to make for years. His raucous piano style drives home hilarious stomps like "I Know He's Your Husband (But He Don't Know That I'm Your Man)" and "It Took An Older Woman (To Make A Man Out Of Me)". Has this sort of thing been done before? Of course. Is it being done better by anyone else? Nope. Oh, by the way, Malone also finds time to arrange all the horn charts himself. Busy fellow. Yet Malone is more than just a chest thumper. Pretty piano ballads like the road weary "Gold Rush Inn" and "Where My Heart Will Be Found" show a sensitive side, and a man with a gift for crafting tender melody lines. This talent is rare today. In any style. The Darkest Part Of The Night is a great record, one that fairly leaps from the speakers. Quite an introduction. Lets hope it gets noticed. -Thomas Flannery
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