Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!

(Lost Highway)

Record Review by Sean P. Lambert

Call it Retro Soul, I just call it great music. Channeling the STAX, Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and even Chess Records greats, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears lay on the line tasty rhythms, creative horn and organ arrangements, awesome production value and the kind of desperate front man howling that makes ears happy. Cuts like “Get Yo Shit” and the following “Humpin’” are simply too raw, too inspired and too strongly delivered to ignore by soul enthusiasts and unexposed ears alike.

The album’s range of influences is nearly as impressive as the execution of the individual songs. Want Delta blues with a side of Cajun funk? Check out “Master Sold My Baby,” a nod to the RL Burnside version of the deep-rooted blues. Need an honest to goodness dance floor hit circa ’67? “Sugarfoot,” with its snappy horn refrains and hopping guitar and bass interplay, not to mention Black Joe Louis’ spot-on shouting, will get those rugs pushed back right quick. “I’m Broke” tells it like it is, ‘nuff said. “Big Booty Woman,” takes the call back structure of a spiritual and turns it squarely on its head, celebrating feminine girth the way it should be done. “Boogie” kicks off strong, gets quiet and explodes all over again in well-structured church revival fashion. “Bobby Boshay” is one of those neighborhood legend tunes extolling the exploits of a “mean dude” that deserved to have a tune written in his honor or demanded it point blank. With a sweet organ breakdown about two-thirds of the way in, it cooks along nicely, but is one-upped by the closing “Please Pt. Two,” a harrowing supplication of the kind that effectively shuts down any notion of an encore. By the end of this release, you’ll sure to be spent, sweaty and thankful.