The Detroit Cobras have so much sexy, swaggering fun laying down the bare bones of early '60s rock and roll, soul and R&B that the fact they're a cover band lies somewhere between a nonissue and an asset. Led by principal players Rachel Nagy (throaty vocals) and Mary Ramirez (fuzzed-out lead guitar), the Cobras have weathered the trend of the early '00s garage-rock revival led by "the" bands, such as fellow Detroiters the White Stripes. The Cobras are still one of the finest party bands around: The teenagers get wild off the infectious, three-chord grooves, the retro-rock chic and Nagy's rampant sexual innuendo; the record geeks get all hot and bothered by the raucously resurrected cuts from R&B greats such as Solomon Burke, Irma Thomas and Otis Redding.
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