No Monkeying Around

The Radiators celebrate their 40th anniversary with a new album.

- John Swenson

Forty years now of Radiators. From playing with Fess, from backing up Earl King, to a major label recording deal, national tours and closing out Jazz Fest, to losing the record contract and the financial support that came with it. From being “Too Stupid To Stop,” to not being able to quit after Katrina made them testify for what was left of New Orleans, to finally calling a “Last Watusi” at Tipitina’s in 2011, to being called back for encores at Tipitina’s beginning in 2013 and at Jazz Fest several times since. And now, 40 years after the band formed in keyboardist Ed Volker’s garage, really pulling it all back together again to make a new album and put a big smile on what had been an unsettling denouement.

Welcome to the Monkey House sounds more like a comeback than a reunion. The band is in fighting trim with a crisp, terse rendition of 16 songs, the most they’ve ever crammed into a single release. Bassist Reggie Scanlan and drummer Frank Bua are full of interactive life. Guitarists Dave Malone and Camile Baudoin spin crackling lead and rhythm exchanges, breaks and fills, never playing more than the songs require. Volker himself sounds like a man possessed, singing with abandon and sharing magnificent vocal harmonies and tradeoffs with Malone.

“Dude, this is the record that was never supposed to be,” says Malone. “Nobody thought it would ever happen. All the stars aligned. I’m so happy with it I can’t stand it.”

Scanlan, who has been active in numerous projects recently, calls it the best album the band has ever made.