Blues Society of Western PA - Newsletter

Alligator Records

This CD is a celebration of a team that has been together since 1989, that’s longer than most marriages last.
And what a team they are! This is their first recording for the Alligator label.

Smokin’ Joe was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Texas. He was already a slinger at fourteen, playing the Texas circuit in the seventies. He has played with Stevie Ray Vaughn and the Kings, B.B. and Albert. He then landed as rhythm guitar behind Freddie King until Freddie died in 1976.

Bnois King is more jazzy than Joe on guitar. The combination of Smokin’ Joe’s blues/rock blazing guitar and Bnois’ softer, jazz riffs produce a sound rarely achieved. Bnois handles the vocals in a seemingly effortless manor. His vocals are so strongly individual that it is easy to distinguish from all others.

There are fourteen songs with thirteen originals. As I gave this CD a first listen, I read the liner notes. Seeing song titles like “Flame Thrower” and “Freezer Burn,” I expected Joe to show why he got the nickname, “Smokin.” He did not disappoint. However, it was the slower eight-minute, “Stop Drinking,” that impressed me the most. The vocals are top notch and Joe just tears it up. At times, it made me wonder, ‘How did he do that?’ The CD is well put together mixing slower and smooth with all out blistering. I have never heard a bad CD from them and this one did not disappoint.

- Jim Weber