Paydirt (album)

The album was produced by former member Fred LeBlanc, who also cowrote the songs.[5] Kyle Melancon took over on drums, replacing Chris Luckette.[3] It was the band's intention to make a more radio-friendly record; they had decided to pull back from national touring if Paydirt was not a success.[6]

The song "King Death" was written in tribute to Country Dick Montana.[7] Tab Benoit contributed guitar to "String You Up"; "Singin' the Blues" is a cover of the Marty Robbins song.[8][9]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Austin Chronicle	[10]
Los Angeles Times	[11]
The Tampa Tribune	[12]
The Times-Picayune	[13]

The Washington Post called the album "a Dixie-fried, swamp-soaked version of NRBQ."[5] OffBeat wrote that the band "has largely abandoned the hard rock, punkabilly and song parodies of recent years in favor of a triumphant return to their countrified pop roots."[14]

The Los Angeles Times wrote: "With Paydirt, this notoriously rowdy and raucous trio counterbalances its own typical tendencies by tempering the raunch with brisk smart-pop offerings and even some serious, wistful and lovely jangle-rock numbers far more redolent of R.E.M.'s sober Athens, Ga., classicism than the whiskey-drenched roadhouse mayhem Dash has been bootlegging out of New Orleans for nearly 15 years."[11] The Times-Picayune deemed the album "a collection of mostly mid-tempo, crisp guitar pop."[13]

• Bill Davis - guitar, vocals
• Hoaky Hickel - bass
• Kyle Melancon - drums