COWBOY MOUTH, Cover Yo' Azz!

If for some godforsaken reason you’re not familiar with the frolicsome, high-energy alt/roots rock jam band juggernaut of Louisiana Music Hall of Famers Cowboy Mouth, there’s one thing you’ve gotta do before you dig into the sublime, super-imaginative raucous fire of their latest (and 14th overall) cleverly titled album Cover Yo’ Azz.

Get thee to Spotify (or whatever way you stream) and check out some barnburners from their two recent Live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival albums from 2023/24. You’ll soon know why frontman, drummer and band co-founder Fred LeBlanc says, “If the Neville Brothers and The Clash had a baby, it would be Cowboy Mouth.

LeBlance admits there’s no true rhyme and reason behind their decision, seven years after their most recent studio album to do a kick ass collection of Cowboy Moutherized cover tunes, but immerse and you’ll be glad you did. Times are tough, but they’ll seem less so as you hear them take the dramatic cheese out of “My Way” and turn it into an unforgettable soul-punk dip into the band’s totally original aesthetic.

Though the tracks seem to be chosen randomly and follow no thematic pattern, the group has unique connections to or fondness for everything from The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” (performed with CM’s trademark burning aggression) and Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” (imagine Freddie Mercury’s never recorded bluegrass LP, complete with fanciful fiddler Brendon Anthony) to Cher’s “Gypsy Tramps & Thieves” (pure feisty fun!) and The Who’s Quadrophenia screamer “The Real Me” (with guitarist John Thomas Griffith out Daltreying Daltrey on some truly powerhouse vocals!).

While those tracks are pure freewheeling fun, Cowboy Mouth balances them with the gentler, sweeter easy to sing along with pieces like Rodney Crowell’s lesser known “Til I Gain Control Again” and a beautiful rendition of the early R.E.M. mid-tempo ballad “Perfect Circle. Though it’s a boisterous NOLA romp that rolls as all out party music, their electrifying twist on the Fats Domino co-penned, Bobby Mitchell popularized “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday” hits closest to home.

Just to make sure we know that Cowboy Mouth revels in meaningful obscurities as sure as they love covering Queen and Who classics, the collection wraps with “City by a River,” a highly spiritual pop/rocker penned by longtime CM pals Hootie & The Blowfish for the soundtrack to Jesus: The Epic Mini-Series (2000). Hootie guitarist (and the song’s primary writer) Mark Bryan brings this epic song of longing to a deeper emotional level.