Wow, no Springsteen entries this week and yet we all found something to listen to. We've got a smaller group this week than most, but the songs here are all worth hearing. They may not be the best songs ever, they may not even be our favorites, but they kept us entertained last week. You could do worse than to try a few of them out and see what they do for you.

Josh Hathaway "The Wheel Man" from The Wheel Man by Watermelon Slim & The Workers (feat. Magic Slim)

I was really conflicted about which song to write about this week. I spent a ton of time listening to Tom Petty over the weekend as I recovered from sinus hell, and there are some songs from The Rounders' Wish I Had You that I am going to have to talk about soon.

In the end, I had to go with Watermelon Slim & The Workers because their new album, The Wheel Man, is out this week and I've declared it Watermelon Slim week over at Confessions of a Fanboy. I've been listening to the album all day long and I could write about any song on the record. I wrote about ”Black Water,” a couple weeks ago, so I've chosen to write about the new album's title track.

Often when two stars get together for a duet, the idea turns out to be more interesting than the results. “The Wheel Man,” pairing Watermelon Slim with the legendary Magic Slim, is not one of those moments. This is one of those rare occasions when everything works. This is a great song in its own rite and the Slims rise to the level of the song. Magic Slim doesn't go out of his way to overshadow his host, and Watermelon Slim is secure enough in his own talents and generous enough of spirit to allow Magic Slim near equal time. This isn't about oneupmanship, this is about two bluesmen getting together and letting it rip.

“The Wheel Man” is a hell of a way to open a record.

Pico: "Present" from Mirakle by Derek Bailey/Jamaaladeen Tacuma/Calvin Weston.

As the foundation for the deep (or should I say deeply twisted) funk of avant garde heavies like James Blood Ulmer and electric Ornette Coleman, putting Tacuma and Weston together with the godfather of whack jazz guitar was just crazy. Crazy like a fox, that is.