The last of 2009 reviews are all about St. Louis.

There were three great St. Louis musician albums that came out late 2008 and 2009 that I wanted to share with folks. The first is the great blues/folk blues/country blues revivalists The Rum Drum Ramblers. I am so burnt on electric blues that it is ridiculous. And quite frankly I can't tell the difference between modern electric blues and the rock blooze of the late 60's. But blues revivalists, especially those in the folk & country vein, really trip my trigger. Even the electric blues of The Rum Drum Ramblers are great. I strongly recommend their excellent Tradin' Dollars For Dimes to any blues purist and anyone interested in retro tuneage that is as authentic as any St. Louis style blues that you can lay your hands on. The Rum Drum Ramblers are a Rosetta stone of acoustic, post WWII electric, and country blues like no other groups in St. Louis. Many of their tunes are comparable to the types of blues archetypes done by such bands as The Squirrel Nut Zippers or Flat Duo Jets. As fun as their album is to listen to, it is a great history lesson. Put these guys in league with Henry Townsend or Albert King and BUY THEIR RECORD.

Photographer, musician, singer/songwriter and KDHX DJ (and a true DJ at that) put out two excellent Americana albums under two different names. The first is Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost. This album features the Rum Drum Ramblers as the backing band and is full of the fun and humor you would expect from Reuter. His excellent command of punk and garage meshes nicely with his command of blues and folk. Primarily an Americana-style singer/songwriter record featuring blues, folk, and country blues, it is the softer side of this great musician's records that came out last year.

Contrasting from Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost to his other great band called Thee Dirty South, their record, 25 Conversations, sounds like it could have all been included on the first Nuggets Boxed Set; Detroit rock and roll in the vein of Sweaty Teddy, the MC5, or the Stooges. Hell, this could be Neil Young and Crazy Horse (speaking of Neil Young, included here is a great cover of Mr. Soul). You get the picture, heavey, tinny guitar, 4-track recording and hell of a lot of rock and roll fun.

Both of Reuter's albums reflect a true musician's musician and someone who understands the term "rock and roll" from its 1950's R & B beginnings to late 70's American punk. You don't get better than this. It is way, way, way underground but the sound is sooooo purely in the rock and roll spirit of rebellion that The Ramones would be jealous.

I think Bob Reuter is on a little hiatus from his gig as DJ of Bob's Scartchy Records on KDHX, but that show really defines how he approaches his own music. What a treasure and gem to the St. Louis music scene he and the Rum Drum Ramblers are!