Kid Ramos — Strange Things Happening

“An Answer for Isaac” unleashed its full power inside a wind tunnel fit for jet turbines.

Or so it sounds.

Plus, it wouldn’t be too farfetched, given the fierce roar and blowback thrust that spews from a massively ornery guitar. Feeding off that angry energy, a howling harmonica joins the attack while a bass and some hard-slapped drums ramrod the rhythm. No quarter is offered by anyone. The ominous groove with the almighty quake plays no favorites, lashing out just as mercilessly on amplifiers and eardrums alike. The cold echo encasing these five minutes heightens the sense of scale and space of it all. The onslaught is glorious.

Yet, in an ironic twist, the lyrics can be heard reciting “I am a lamb” amidst the raging din. Funny thing, too, is that wild “Isaac” actually turns out to be a member of a congregation, sharing faithful fellowship with 11 other (more harmless yet no less spirited) tracks.

You see, David “Kid” Ramos—noted fretsman with prior tenure in the James Harman Band, Roomful of Blues, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and the Mannish Boys in addition to a solo career—now adds a gospel offering to his line of blues records. And true to Ramos, Strange Things Happening is just as much a guitar showcase. The match was made in heaven when pairing Ramos’ antsy West Coast-styled chops with fervent songs of rapture that lend themselves to working up a mortal as well as a spiritual sweat, be that stomping the age-old “I’m Working On a Building” or waltzing “Satan’s Jeweled Crown,” Tex-Mex style, with acoustic bajo sexto, accordion and starched trumpets right out of a border-town cantina.

Keeping the sparks flying, the title track traces back to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock and Roll, who, in a dress and earrings, was every bit an electrified guitar hero with flying fingers and windmill arm moves that long predated Pete Townshend. The arrangement here honors the requisite bounce of her 1944 original and also green-lights vocalist Brian Templeton to catapult off the refrain’s swinging release. Templeton doesn’t stop there, though. The songwriting harpist (“An Answer for Isaac” is one of his) with the strong, dynamic voice sings on all but two tracks. “How I Got Over,” Clara Ward’s fizzing classic, also gets jolted by Templeton knowing when to rattle the rafters and when to glide peacefully.

In sharp contrast, “Oh What a Meeting” smolders its salvation in minor key. Far more intensely, too, than the Soul Stirrers first did in the 1960s. Johnny Ramos, Kid’s son, rides the verses from emotional crest to crest, through which piano notes trickle and organ chords surge. But what tips the balance is the spidery guitar constantly nipping at the edges, channeling Cobra-era Otis Rush, building pressure, ratcheting up suspense in anticipation of the relief valve eventually blowing to let scalding shards come whipping out. Call it high drama, as a church song of heavenly reunion gets disguised as an epic, seven-minute slow blues.

Miraculously, Strange Things Happening was recorded live in a San Clemente studio within 48 hours. They were indeed pressing on.

So let B.B. King have his Sings Spirituals; Bob Dylan, his Slow Train Coming (plus Saved and Shot of Love, the source of “Every Grain of Sand,” which gets covered here); and Snoop Dogg, his Bible of Love. Kid Ramos—and his excitable guitar—have Strange Things Happening, which is expectedly divine—regardless of your Sunday morning status.

Label: Nola Blue

Release date: 3/21/25

Label website: nola-blue.com

Reviewed by Dennis Rozanski