Traveling from Chicago to New Orleans on the mainline, R&B cult hero Andre "Mr. Rhythm" Williams has teamed with the Crescent City's hedonistic barroom punks The New Orleans Hellhounds. The ‘hounds share several bandmembers with the notorious Morning 40 Federation, a band of alcoholic miscreants whose shows have more in common with demolition derbies than actual concerts. Like the unique city his backing boys call home, 'Dre has been dirty, down, broke and pushed to the edge of oblivion more than once, but both have managed to keep a glint in their eye and a strut in their step. The original Black Godfather wants us all to know on "Can You Deal With it?" that he can still get around and get down with a Hellhound Sound that's as thick as an August night in the bayou.

This is some heavy punk-soul, brothers and sisters. Andre's in firm voice, from his sly, come-hither leer on "Hear Ya Dance" to his guttural and guttery yowl on "Never Had A Problem", to the downright TUFF throw down on "If You Leave Me." The Hellhounds, with their fat horns, fuzzed out guitars and crack rhythm section, provide backing with all the subtlety of a bike chain beatdown. Add to the mix the Ninth Ward mad scientist virtuoso oddball genius Quintron on organ and this band lays down a serious base coat of soulful wallop befitting the legacy of Andre. You have been duly warned, oh seekers of the rock, that this record has more grind in it than a 3 am cup of diner coffee.

For those of you who might not be as hip to Andre Williams as you should, here's a quick primer. "Mr. Rhythm" (a nickname given to him by none other than Redd Foxx) is a R&B legend and you may not even know it. He wrote "Shake A Tail Feather," and wrote and sang such ur-raunch classics as "Bacon Fat" (covered by the Cramps), "Greasy Chicken," and the epitome of cautionary tales about little girls, "Jail Bait." He worked at Motown and Fortune and with Ike Turner. Yeah, baby.

After a few hard years in... er...retirement, he stormed back a few years ago with a record of smutty garage punk recorded with members of the Demolition Doll Rods and the Dirt-Bombs. For Bloodshot, he recorded the LP "Red Dirt" with Canadian guitar geniuses the Sadies, and a 7" single "Jet Black Daddy, Lily White Woman" with Detroit's 2 Star Tabernacle, which featured a very young, very-pre-White Stripes Jack White. Andre was also the subject of a documentary film "Agile, Mobile and Hostile" that premiered at 2008's SXSW Film Festival.

And now he's back for another round with this fine addition to his canon of carnal coolness. He's here to tell it like it is. With a nod, a wink, a chuckle, and a rousing HELL YEAH! 'Dre and New Orleans. Two fighters. Yes, we can deal with that.