With Erik Levy (bass), Rick Criniti (guitar), Tony Santoro (guitar) and Chris Branco (drums) completing the line-up, the band soon negotiated a contract with Mercury Records. They debuted with Electric Rattlebone, a blues-based set of hard rock songs that paid respect to Aerosmith, Humble Pie, Cinderella and the Rolling Stones in more or less equal portions. Although far from original, the material was delivered with conviction. Widely compared to fellow retro-rockers the Black Crowes, they have yet to emulate that level of commercial or artistic achievement.