Review by Steve Morse
Music reviewer who was at the Boston Globe for 30 years and has contributed to Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Musician magazine
“The title Low Expectations is immediately ironic, because those expectations are exceeded quickly with this new release. Welcome to wonderful, highway-traveled rock ‘n’ blues that carries a real punch.”
The Automatics are a Boston supergroup of sorts, featuring two past members of the band Boston (guitarist Barry Goudreau and drummer Sib Hashian), along with gritty singer Brian Maes (who was part of RTZ with Goudreau and Boston singer Brad Delp, then with Peter Wolf’s House Party 5), bassist Tim Archibald (another alum of RTZ and Wolf’s band), saxman Michael “Tunes” Antunes (John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band) and rhythm guitarist Ernie Boch, who pulled it all together. The group’s format is quite democratic, as all members contribute writing credits. The standout is the crunching rocker, The Good Times (Never Last), a Goudreau/Maes composition that takes some thinly veiled shots at controversial Boston founder Tom Scholz (“How you try so hard to keep me down”), before breaking into a tribute to the departed Delp (“An old friend who is no longer with us”). The groove is nonstop and so is the hook and message. Goudreau is stellar throughout (his slide guitar on the bluesy Back Around is a highlight), and Antunes gets down ‘n’ dirty with his sax on the title track, where he evokes the piercing horn line from Bob Seger’s Turn the Page. Singer Maes is a coiled spring of raw energy and he powerfully recalls the edgier side of Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers on the ballad I’m Gonna Haunt You. The music reflects many years on the road (“just another day of paying some dues,” as Maes wails on Blues Town) and there’s not a dishonest chord or lyric here. The songs are all originals and there are even a couple of hot instrumentals in Hong Kong Shuffle (a Boch/Hashian cowrite) and the climactic Fly in the Milk, where the Automatics reveal a jazzier side of their personality. This is music with old-school flair, but with a fresh, never-say-die face.
Review by Scott Iwasaki
Deseret News Published: Thursday, March 12, 2009 10:05 p.m. MDT
“While Growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, I played the drums, and I listened to everyone from Tommy Aldridge (my favorite) to Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Styx’s John Panozzo, Journey’s Steve Smith, Jefferson Starship’s Aynsley Dunbar, jazzman Billy Cobham, Rush’s Neil Peart and Van Halen’s Alex Van Halen.”
I also got into Sib Hashian from the band Boston, whom I haven’t heard about since his appearance on Sammy Hagar’s 2003 “Live Hallelujah” CD.
I recently received a notice that Sib, born John Hashian, was in a new group called Ernie & the Automatics.
Needless to say, I was interested.
The band — Hashian, former Boston and RTZ guitarist Barry Goodreau, former RTZ keyboardist/vocalist Brian Maes, John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown’s saxophonist Michael “Tunes” Antunes and founder Ernie Boch Jr. — released its first full-length CD, “Low Expectations” on Open E Records a few weeks ago. The CD hit No. 7 on Billboard Magazine’s Top Blues Album charts. It currently sits at No. 10. Boch, the CEO of Boch Enterprises in Norwood, Mass., who studied music at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, struck up a friendship with Hashian a few years ago. “A mutual friend introduced us,” said Boch during a phone call from his office. “And when Sibby found out I played guitar, he kept asking me when we were going to jam “I finally caved in, and we got to jamming, and it was a lot of fun. And Sibby said, ‘I bet my friend would be interested in jamming with us.’ ”
That friend was Goodreau.
“I thought to myself, ‘This is insane!’ ” said Boch.
The jam sessions continued, and Goodreau recruited his RTZ bandmate Brian Maes to do vocals and keyboards, and then they all decided they needed a saxophonist and called up Antunes.
Needless to say, Boch was in awe. “Even today I look around at the band and know that they have all collectively sold 30 million albums in their lifetime,” he said.
After playing gigs around the Boston area — their first show was opening for Los Lobos and the second gig was opening for B.B. King — the band decided to talk about recording a CD.
“We had been playing cover tunes through all this,” said Boch. “So we decided to write our own songs and make a CD.” The band walked into the studio on Feb. 17, 2008, and “Low Expectations” was released nationally a year to the day later.
The album is a solid blues-based rock album that features songs such as the Motown-flavored “If I’d a Let You,” the snakily dark and colorful “Hong Kong Shuffle,” the jazz-club feel of “Fly in the Milk” and a sax-driven explosive number called “Let It Go.”
While the band was pieced together with no real goal in mind, Boch said there is a goal now.
“We want to win a Grammy,” he said.
And, after listening to the CD nonstop, I do believe they could.
Ernie And The Automatics Cruise With High Results On Low Expectations – by Jason Savio
When members from different bands come together to collaborate there is always room for much unpredictability. Whether it’s the music itself or those playing it, one can never know exactly what to expect. Boston blues/rock band Ernie And The Automatics (EATA) can justifiably fall into both of these categories. Like most things of uncertainty, there is always the possibility of failure and disappointment. But, with Ernie And The Automatics debut album Low Expectations, the listener is welcomed to a very pleasant surprise.
On paper the band’s line-up looks like an unlikely grouping of successful musicians. First off they boast classic rock royalty with two original members of Boston, the always impressive Barry Goudreau on guitar and counterpart Sib Hashian on drums. Continuing with the home town theme is keyboardist/vocalist Brian Maes and bassist Tim Archibald, both former members of RTZ. Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Michael “Tunes” Antunes of John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band provides scorching sax while, driving the point home, is founding band member and Berklee-bred guitarist Ernie Boch Jr.
Instead of being a typical blues record with all of the common cookings, Low Expectations offers an alternative. It has a very unique feel thanks to the diverse group of talent gathered and drawing on these different sources allows for a very interesting listen. Of course there are the blues based formatted songs, all of which, such as the smoky swamp drawl of “Back Around”, are done with the spirit and accuracy of an old-time blues band. Low Expectation, however, doesn’t allow itself to get stuck in a corner it can’t get out of and stays away from being strictly a blues recording. The slinking bop between Archibald’s bass and Hashian’s drums on “If I’d A Let You” creates a funk groove that gives way to a pummeling rock chorus while “Dead Man” is borderline hard rock thanks to Goudreau’s heavy power chords and dirty lead runs. The clever instrumentals “Hong Kong Shuffle” and the surprisingly jazzy “Fly In The Milk” place the exceptional phrasing prowess of each member in the spotlight, showing their ability to jam and deliver enough memorable hooks to earn attention without the aide of vocals.
As if the instrumentals were not enough of a clue, the playing on Low Expectations is very dynamic. The interplay between Goodreau’s guitar and Antunes’ sax on the playful neuroticism of “Tappin’ On An Empty Head” and their call and response on the title track is a perfect example of two talents feeding off of each other. Antunes compliments every song perfectly, adding a soulful quality with his solos and embellishments that complete the album. Goodreau, probably one of the most underappreciated guitarists of his generation, doesn’t sound like he’s lost any bit of that edge from his days with Boston. He tears through the album with ease and a controlled chaos that is backed by Ernie Boch Jr.’s steady guitar. The rhythm section of Archibald and Hashian is dependable on songs such as the ominous “I’m Gonna Haunt You” and “Blues Town” in which Archibald shows no fear to stretch outside the pocket. Vocalist Maes supplies a variety of textures on his keyboard along with lyrics that make the songs relatable.
There are lyrics that touch upon themes resident to the blues genre, but it would be unfair to dismiss Maes’ songwriting as stereotypical blues. He is not simply going through the motions of what is expected of a genre singer. There is a sense of resiliency and optimism woven throughout the album in his lyrics, perhaps best summed up when he sings in “The Best Is Up Ahead”, “I’m rollin’ down the highway and I hope this rig will last/ ‘Cause the man’s right behind me and he’s catchin’ up fast/But the best is up ahead on this road I’m down” – a fitting narrative for these veteran musicians that allows the album to be upbeat. It is this aspect of Maes’ songwriting that lends a lightness and charm to Low Expectations, helping to keep its audience connected.
Out of all the unpredictability Low Expectations embodies, it isn’t the music or the band itself that is the most surprising. Rather, it is their tremendous respect for the blues. In a day and age in which most modern rock acts pay no attention or give thanks to the genre that paved the way for them, it is refreshing to hear one give their proper respects. Ernie And The Automatics understand that without the blues greats that came before them, none of their former bands, let alone this one, would exist. Low Expectations stands as a tribute to them while still being its own unique offering, making it a very rewarding album.
Review by Robert Silverstein
Formerly of 20th Century Guitar Magazine
Music Web Express 3000
“Boston has an illustrious music history as the home town for a number of classic rock bands such as Aerosmith, The Cars, The J. Geils Band and of course, the band named after its hometown, Boston. Two musicians involved with the original Boston band lineup — guitarist Barry Goudreau and drummer Sib Hashian — are among the featured players in the latest band to emanate from bean town, rockers Ernie And The Automatics. Kicking off with “The Good Times Never Last” — a spirited, hook-heavy rocker in the finest Boston pop-rock spirit, the album Low Expectations is anything but a modern pop-rock album with low expectations! Goudreau’s lead off track is a sonic blast and sets the tone for a rockin’ album in the finest spirit of the original Boston sound. There’s even a couple great instrumental rock tracks that kick some serious butt. Clearly, guitarists Jay Geils and the Cars’ Elliot Easton would dig Goudreau’s excellent guitar work in Ernie And The Automatics. Ernie’s vocalist Brian Maes, who was with Goudreau post-Boston in the band RTZ, sounds supercharged in the six man Ernie And The Automatics lineup.
Commenting on working with this latest Boston-related supergroup, drummer Sib Hashian adds, “I knew that if we all got together in a recording studio, we could make something happen. I was right, we went in and the result was Low Expectations. The whole package.” Some may carp and say Ernie ATA are merely treading on hallowed ground of the original Boston sound. To those people…turn on the CD player, crank out “The Good Times Never Last” and be prepared to rock and roll!”
Review by Joseph Tortelli
www.goldminemag.com GOLDMINE, MAY 8, 2009
“There’s nothing automatic about recording a debut that stands out with its potent blues-rock mix. Despite the self-effacing Low Expectations title, the pressure was on Ernie And The Automatics to come up with the goods.”
That’s because the six-piece band reunites guitarist Barry Goudreau and drummer Sib Hashian, founding members of BOSTON whose 1976 debut LP achieved multi-platinum status. Other members have played in RTZ, Orion The Hunter, and John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band, widely known for the soundtrack to the movie Eddie And The Cruisers. The group’s founder is guitarist Ernie Boch Jr., whose late father etched the family name into New England’s TV annals by closing his automobile dealership ads with the enthusiastic tag-line: My name is Ernie Boch. Come on down!
Instead of cloning the familiar Boston arenarock style, Ernie And The Automatics develop their own blues-rock identity, highlighting the sweet- ’n-snakey saxophone of Michael Tunes Antunes and the rough-’n-ready voice of keyboardist Brian Maes. The sextet forges the bluesy Low Expectations, the swinging Tappin’ On An Empty Head, the hard-driving Blues Town, and the harmonica-laced Back Around, produced with a gritty backroom vocal sound. Goudreau flashes his dazzling guitar licks on the heavy Dead Man, the clever The Best Is Up Ahead, and the pulsating The Good Times (Never Last), whose catchy hit potential will appeal to fans of BOSTON’s layered, FM radio-friendly arrangements.
Fueled by undeniable group chemistry, Ernie and The Automatics spotlight their musical chops on the instrumentals Hong Kong Shuffle and Fly In The Milk, which completes the 12-track album on an engaging jazz-lounge note.
Review by Jeb Wright
Classic Rock Revisited
“Ex-Boston members Barry Goudreau and Sib Hashian have teamed up with former members of Goudreau’s band RTZ and a local Bostonian named Ernie and went to work: wracking up blues numbers faster than good used car salesmen can move units off the lot. The result is a fun album that mixes rock with blues and features some damn good boogie soaked guitar playing.”
The opening track, “The Good Times (Never Last)” may be seen by fans of Boston as a bit of Barry and Sib slagging their former boss, Tom Scholz. I am sure they won’t admit it but one can’t help but read between the lines. The rest of the disc is dripping with good time, party music. This album rivals anything RTZ did. The band appears to be having fun.
At the end of the day this is a fun disc. If you want some good, old-fashioned boogie rock, then check it out. The band knows what they are doing and deliver it with a big ol’ smile on their face.
