New album: Electric Slave
Artist: Black Joe Lewis
Label: Vagrant (CD/LP/Digital)
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Along with the Black Keys, Black Joe Lewis has found a way to reinterpret the blues for a generation that thinks hard times are when the cable and internet are out. Against all odds, hipsters from the food truck set and hardcore blues purists have taken to Lewis' brand of raucous roadhouse funk in equal number.
Lewis and the core of his band hail from Austin, and that city’s vein of blues and garage rock is wrapped around “Electric Slave” like a vine.
The blues is at its best when it's done raw, and Joe Lewis' vocals are as primal in the Howlin' Wolf/John Lee Hooker sense of the word. Musically, this new collection of songs has the drive of vintage 13th Floor Elevators with a dose of southern soul plopped on top.
Unlike The Wolf or The Hook, the songs on “Electric Slave” don't focus too much on whiskey and women. The album title alone should be a tip that Lewis is tired of people living through their phones and computers.
The paranoia of human interaction comes to the fore on "My Blood Ain't Runnin' Right," with Lewis' distorted vocals meshing nicely with a meaty horn section. The fluidly funky “Come to My Party” alleviates the tension with a rolling groove that would make even the staunchest wallflower want to boogie.
The bad mama jama award goes to the album's opening track "Skulldiggin'." With a guitar fuzzier than a dry-cleaned koala bear and a deep, Black Sabbath-y groove, "Skulldiggin'" is sleazy skuzz rock at its finest. It's difficult to discern what Lewis is singing about, but whatever it is he sounds convincing and cool.
"Skulldiggin'" is the anti-Daft Punk throw down lovers of guitar-based music have been waiting for. Any prepubescent males out there who listen to this track will probably have a full beard within 24 hours.
“Electric Slave” is a ray of light in a dark, empty musical landscape. For a free download of "Skulldiggin'," visit blackjoelewis.com.
Classic album: Yesterday's Wine
Artist: Willie Nelson
Label: RCA (CD/Digital)
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Willie Nelson has released many landmark albums throughout his long and winding career, but “Yesterday's Wine” is one that seems to have gotten away.
Although it isn't loaded with massive hits, as an album it works immaculately. Nelson was one of the first country music artists to embrace the album format as a piece of art, rather than a few radio singles padded out with several tracks of filler.
Nelson's tastes were eclectic enough that he noticed what rock and jazz artists were doing with the long player format, and his infusion of this mindset into country music was fairly radical when “Yesterday's Wine” was released in 1971.
The opening medley of "Where's the Show/Let Me Be a Man" is as stark and spacey as some of Pink Floyd's finest folk moments. This dreamy mood setter leads directly into "In God's Eyes," where Nelson sings about sheep that sometimes go astray. This is followed by a soulful reading of the country standard "Family Bible."
"December Day" should have been a mammoth hit for Nelson, but for anyone who found it on this album it's no doubt been regarded as a treasure. Nelson's jazz-influenced phrasing gives "December Day" a different feel from the standard country whine that many can't go without. This song sounds like a snowy Texas day with a beautiful view.
The lone track on “Yesterday's Wine” that can be considered a hit – “Me and Paul" - is a lighthearted roll call of the trials and tribulations of Nelson and his drummer Paul English. "Me and Paul" has gone on to become one of the most requested songs at Willie Nelson concerts, along with "Whiskey River," "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain" and "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time."
With an artist as prolific as Nelson, it's tempting to cower at his massive catalog and just go for a greatest hits - which is a shame. With superb albums lurking in his discography such as "Yesterday's Wine", it'd be a shame to never hear them.
Jon Dawson's album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase ‘Making Gravy in Public’ at jondawson.com.