Scott Martelle on singer-songwriter Peter Case

Our Scott Martelle, who in the distant past served as a music critic, had this piece Monday for the Los Angeles Times on Peter Case, and his first album of new material since emergency open-heart surgery in early 2009. From the story:

Case, 56, falls silent and stares out the window, drumming his fingers on the back of the empty chair next to him as he goes through some sort of internal calibration.

"It's hard to put your finger on, man," Case finally says. "It was really a shocker, really blew my mind… The things you think about, about life and stuff, are different from what you think about a lot of the rest of the time. So on some level, I suppose it was charged up by that, a 'now is the time' kind of vibe."

"Charged up" is the right phrase for "Wig!" It's Case's first collection of new songs since the emergency bypass surgery in January 2009 that forced him to cancel special concerts marking his 25th year as a solo artist. ("I'm glad to be alive," he announced at the time, "but it really kicked my… .")

With old friends D.J. Bonebrake of X on drums and Memphis, Tenn., guitarist Ron Franklin backing him up, Case spent a mere two days laying down the 12 tracks, which bristle with the energy of hard-charging roadhouse blues.