Black Joe Lewis – Record-facts…

Black Joe Lewis is an American blues, funk and soul artist influenced by Howlin’ Wolf and James Brown. He formed Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears in Austin, Texas in 2007. In March 2009, Esquire listed Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears as one of the “Ten Bands Set to Break Out at 2009’s SXSW Festival.

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This is a loud Rock/Blues album. This album is a breakaway from earlier Joe Lewis album’s in the sense that the HoneyBears horn section dont announce themselves with every track. This album is aggressive climatic and exciting.

Black Joe Lewis‘ 2013 studio album, Electric Slave, picks up on the barebones blues and old-school R&B of his 2011 release, Scandalous. As with his previous releases, including his 2007 self-titled debut and 2009’s Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is, Lewis favors a shoot-from-the-hip, lo-fi brand of vintage soul. And while he still peppers his rock anthems with flourishes from an adept jazz-informed horn section, Electric Slave is his most primitive album to date. Lewis has always subscribed to the “shout on key” school of rock vocals, and Electric Slave finds him as bellicose and rowdy as ever, settling into a mix of Skip James‘ Southern drawl, James Brown‘s lustful rasp and Iggy Pop‘s snotty yawp. Often times, listening to Lewis hold court over his band’s bombastic, fuzz-laden grooves, as on “My Blood Ain’t Runnin’ Right” and the mod rock inflected “Hipster,” you often simply get the gist of what he’s saying via grunts and half-enunciated proclamations. When you do finally catch on to what he’s singing about, as on the ebullient lead-off single “Come to My Party,” his mush-mouthed enthusiasm works to amp up your own inclinations to party down. Similarly engaging are Lewis‘ handful of delirious and mud-caked tunes, including the old-school rave-up “Young Girls,” the slow groove “Make Dat Money,” and the swirling, funk-infused “Golem.” Ultimately, while neither a true blues musician, nor a neo-soul crooner, Black Joe Lewis is pure energy on Electric Slave.

Tracklist

1.   Skulldiggin – 2:58
2. Young Girls – 2:55
3.   Dar Es Salaam – 4:10
4.   My Blood Ain’t Runnin’ Right – 3:51
5.   Guilty – 3:25
6.   Come to My Party – 2:41
7.   Vampire – 6:46
8. Make Dat Money – 5:46
9. The Hipster – 2:38
10. Golem – 3:27
11. Mammas Queen – 3:49

All songs written-by Jason Frey, Joseph Lewis, Derek Phelps, William Gregory Stevenson, Eduardo Torres, Joseph Woullard

Credits