By: Tim "Big T" Mannion
The Austin-based garage/soul band Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears released their sophomore effort Scandalous on the Lost Highway label this past Tuesday.
Coming off their well-received debut album Tell ’Em What Your Name Is!, Black Joe Lewis and his band are back with more of the gritty soul jams that they throw down so well.
It would be painfully easy to categorize Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears as “soul revival” or “retro”, but that’s simply not the case. While there have been comparisons made between Joe Lewis and everyone from Otis Redding to Howlin’ Wolf, this man and his band aren’t concerned with perfectly recreating some glorious musical era of the past. Instead, they do nothing more than play raucous, feel-good party music.
From the very beginning of the disc with the opener “Livin’ in the Jungle”, it’s apparent that Joe Lewis and his band aren’t straying too much from their time-tested formula. Heavy bass lines, scorching guitars and a stripped-down horn section are all present on this track. “I’m Gonna Leave You” is next up, a slow and swaggering blues romp reminiscent of a Mississippi hill country blues tune in the vein of Junior Kimbrough. Simplistic in both musical and lyrical quality, but that is hardly a bad attribute for this record.
“Booty City” is a funky and danceable jam that has Joe Lewis’ vocals channeling the sounds of James Brown in his prime. Chock-full of a sing-a-long chorus, deep horn lines and excellent production, this song is one of the standouts on the album. “Black Snake” is a raunchy and swamp-filled jam that is clearly not about a reptile, (if you know what I mean...) and on “She’s So Scandalous” Lewis and his band let the horn section drive as he laments about wrongdoing women.
On “Messin” Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears revisit their bluesy side, much to my liking. Delta-style guitar work and pounding drums make this tune my favorite on their new release. It’s always great to see a band that can throw down a high-energy funk jam one second and then sit down and play a Robert Johnson style blues song the next. The variety of songs presented here help to keep the album flowing and the listener interested.
Other notable tracks include the band’s take on Ivory Joe Hunter’s “Since I Met You Baby.” While it’s definitely not anything like the original, that’s exactly the point of doing a cover song. Black Joe Lewis and the band add their own style to the song while paying homage to a great artist. Scandalous comes to an end with “Jesus Took My Hand”, a bluesy jam filled with great guitar work and powerful vocals.
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears’ newest release clocks in a well under the 40-minute mark, which is something I enjoy. I like this album for that very reason, its short, simple and to the point. There's really no filler here, every song has a purpose and works well. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears will be appearing at the Double Door on April 2nd and while tickets are sold out, I’m sure you can get yours hands on one somewhere. Don't pass up the chance to see these guys live!
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William Cochrane
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Thanks for the tweet Hey Tim thanks for signing up for my Tweet feed. Look I am gonna add your blog to the links page at www.ratstrat.com. Hope you enjoy both that site and my own blog at www.bluestrail.com. red beans and ricely yours, Billy 'pup' Cochrane |
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