Instrumentally speaking, the better focus comes from cutting the record with their tight little touring band made up of drums (Tyler "Falcon" Greenwell), bass (Ted Pecchio), and a second guitar (Dave Yoke). The first two guys have played in Susan Tedeschi's and Col. Bruce Hampton's bands. It's no coincidence that the expert slide on tracks like "I Want The Truth" and "He Called My Name" brings the Allman Brothers Band immediately to mind; that's Mattison's boss Trucks making a guest appearance on these songs.

Obviously, the cuts with Trucks on them are highlights, but the song that best exemplifies the duality of Scrapomatic's voices is "Drink House." It's a down-home good time tune that goes in two tempos. There's a a lazy one with guitars straight from the plantation and Mattison pleading "baby come on." The quickened pace features Olsen's fragile tenor slurring off lines each ending with a classic JB line "with your bad self." It's a delivery that perfectly fits lines like

I ain't no doctor, woman
I ain't no doctor's son
But I can cool your fever
Until your doctor comes

Elsewhere, Mattison puts a lot of soul in his vocal performance on the Wolf-styled blues "Killing Yourself On Purpose," going up to a smooth falsetto at one point. "Rembember This Day" is the one Mattison-Olsen collaboration on this and it's good, wholesome organic soul.

Olsen, who's previously won an ASCAP award for a composition he wrote for their first album, is well on his game here. Besides penning "Drink House," he's also responsible for new nuggets like the country-inflected "Hook, Line and Sniker," the stomper "Fire Next Time," and the ardent ballad "Long Haired State."

The only covers on this CD are a quick run-through of Skip James' "Drunken Spree," which sticks close to the spirit of James' 1930 original, and the all-out rocker "I Just Wanna Hang Around With You" from R. Hazard. "Good Luck With Your Impossible Dream" closes the album with a gentle country-folk number by Mattison.

Folk, country, blues...at one time there was little difference among the three. With Sidewalk Caesars, Scrapomatic is blurring the lines again among these great original American music forms and bringing it to modern times with the vitality intact. It's all about how you sing it, play it, and write about it. Mike Mattison and Paul Olsen understand.