his own “Innocent,” his only spotlight here, but one that stands out as the album center- piece. Neel’s voice conveys Gregg Allman grit and Dr. John gris-gris, and the band plays his blues as if pulled from a swamp draped in Spanish moss. Rattling bones with meat and potatoes rock ‘n’ roll is one thing. Rattlebone shakes tasty seasoning all over it, and in the process, shakes a man’s soul to its core.
-Tom Clarke
Suzi Quatro No Control (Steamhammer) I have been a die-
hard Suzi Quatro fan since the early 1970’s. I was even lucky enough
to witness her “girl power” live onstage when she opened Alice Cooper’ first solo tour for Welcome to My Nightmare. She was a tiny little thing but with a huge sound, and a mas- terful bass player. Show of hands. How many remember her few appearances on the TV show Happy Days as “Leather Tuscadero?” I bought all of her albums, and I was
thrilled that she had a ballad called “Michael.” Suzi has now been rocking for over 50 years, delivering with unbridled energy her greatest hits such as ‘Can The Can’, ‘48 Crash’, ‘Devil Gate Drive’, ‘If You Can`t Give Me Love’, ‘She`s In Love With You’ and ‘Stumblin In‘ which earned her a gold record. After all these years, Suzi has aged like fine wine, sounding better than ever on No Control. At 68 years of age, Quatro is still kicking ass and taking names. This year alone, her schedule includes two tours of Australia, a tour of the United Kingdom, a tour of Germany as well as select dates in Europe and here in the USA. Many of the songs were co-written by
Suzi and her son, and they have an innate magic between them Like the cliché says, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. The
The BB King Blues Band The Soul of the King (Ruf Records) Even though B.B.
King has been gone for four years now, his spirit
and legacy lives on. His band of over 35 years, The BB King Blues Band, with the sup- port of several guest artists have created a wonderful blues album The Soul of the King. The band is comprised of lead vocalist/bassist Russell Jackson, guitarist Wilbert Crosby, drummers Brandon Jackson and Herman Jackson, trumpeters James Boogaloo Bolden and Lamar Boulet, lead saxophonist Eric Demmer, saxophonist Walter King, key- boardist Darrell Lavigne, and trombonist Raymond Harris. The energy of the big band is exquis-
itely captured on “Irene Irene”, an original tune featuring the great Kenny Wayne Shep- herd on guitar. This smoking blues track is heavily steeped in the B.B. King sound. Hear- ing Mary Griffin and Taj Mahal pair up for a duet on “Paying the Cost to be the Boss” is in- deed a special treat. Joe Louis Walker makes an appearance to perform his song “Regal Blues (A Tribute to the King)”, making sure to throw in a sweet guitar solo. For the grand fi- nale, the band delivers B.B.’s signature song “The Thrill is Gone” with Michael Lee on lead vocals. Lee, from Season 15 of The Voice, ab- solutely does this one right. Other special guests on the album include, Kenny Neal, Di-
unmistakable Quatro sound burns through your speakers on songs like “Going Home,” “Heavy Duty,” “Macho Man,” “Don’t Do Me Wrong,” and “Going Down Blues.” Her Mo- town influences come through on “Strings” and “Bass Line.” Every song is a winner. No Control is one ass kicking album. Believe me!
-Michael Buffalo Smith
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