Mike Campbell made his bones as the lead guitarist for one of the great working bands in rock & roll, so it should come as no surprise that
the Dirty Knobs -- the group that's become his main gig since the 2017 death of
Tom Petty and the subsequent disbandment of
the Heartbreakers -- are hitting a groove three albums into their career.
Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits arrives two years after
External Combustion, which appeared two years after the group's 2020 debut,
Wreckless Abandon. During those four years,
the Dirty Knobs underwent some visible changes --
Campbell's name went on the marquee for
External Combustion; original guitarist
Jason Sinay was replaced by
Chris Holt, who makes his debut with the band here, as does former
Heartbreaker drummer
Steve Ferrone -- which isn't turbulence so much as what a working band does: they persevere. On
Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits,
the Dirty Knobs sound rougher and richer than they did before, expanding upon the roots they laid down on their first two records. All of
Campbell's signatures remain in place, not just from
the Dirty Knobs but from
the Heartbreakers, too: the group graft psychedelia upon the heavy blues crunch that's their specialty. The slight studio trickery and willingness to float away on the
Byrdsian chime of "Innocent Man" make
Vagabonds a lighter, livelier affair than its predecessors, yet
the Dirty Knobs still drive headfirst into down-and-dirty rock & roll: "So Alive" barrels forth on a heavy blues buzz, "Shake These Blues" stomps like a greasy "Jean Genie," while
Chris Stapleton and
Benmont Tench help "Don't Wait Up" boogie with abandon.
Campbell does drift into serious territory, such as on the bruised ballad "Hell or High Water," but the fact that
Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits ends with the riotous drinking song "My Old Friends" is telling: ultimately,
the Dirty Knobs are about having a good time, all the time, a dynamic that this record achieves. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
