REVIEWS
Texas Jake (r.n Jake Lee aka King of Slide) is an exceptional blues and slide guitar player. He can write songs that evoke true blues styles and traditions in each and every aspect. There are some real stompin blues tunes too in his catalog that sound every bit like the classics the rest of his songs do but that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Jake's been 'at it' since he was thirteen years old and since then he's been involved in the business of writing, performing, and playing 'from the heart - making music the best it can be' all over the States in particular. As a guitarist, he's a difficult act to beat; there's some exquisite picking combined with the most astonishing slide phrases you're ever likely to hear from the genre that lead us to R&B and Rock n Roll.
Now, when I say Jake's been 'at it' it's really a massive understatement. This man has jammed with the likes of Freddy King, Rossand Roland Kirk, Janis Joplin, Peter Greene, Taj Mahal, Jerry Garcia, Dusty Hill, Cpuntry joe McDonald, Sam Hokins, Bukka White, Johnny Winter, Berry Melton, Boz Scaggs, Steve Miller, Tracy Nelson, Powell St. John, Elvin Bishop, and Mike Bloomfield to name but a few! The thing is, these artists have had the pleasure of jamming with Jake!
Blues Following Me is a self made 2004 Jake album that captures the man's skills and talents as a songwriter, singer, player, in a way that leaves you astonished from the moment the Play button is pressed. Southern blues with trinklings and sprinkings of Chicago blues just about sums up the general theme for this masterpiece but to be honest, that perception would be slightly unfair becasue there's a lot of the artist's heart in here. aAny bluesman of this calibre would tell you that it's not an easy thing to achieve but let's get the album playing and go from there..
Blues Following Me opens up an exciting heart and soul massaging album. It's actually quite a spiritually uplifting song and it has to be played loud in order to 'feel the blues thang going on' simply because there's alot going on vocally and guitar wise. Jake has a deep soulful vocal that give you an indication in every breath of his genuine passion and talent for the blues. San Antone boogie includes some excellent slide work below an almost casually paved vocal that is Jake's trademark in a song meant to be blasted across those summer interstate drives. When Dark Street opens up with it's Delta-esque slide intro, you're watching things get better by the second. It's a very accomplished instrumental filled with Jake's inimitable fret work and you don't want it to end. Can't stand it brings in Jake's superb vocals with intricately balanced drums and bass besides some real skilled blues guitar. It's a track to cherish becasue Jake's having fun here and it shows in the electrifyingly bright blues playing. If we all sing the blues is one of the most brilliant millenium blues tracks I've heard in quite some time. The guitar treatments are almost identical in tone and frequency to what Eric Clapton tried to achieve in his monumental 461 Ocean Boulevard album back in 1972. It's a truly amazing track worth a couple of listens before moving on to Rainbow talkin' which has to be one of the most historically faithful acoustic blues tracks I've ever heard. the truth is, it would be very hard to distinguish this track from the legendary blues renditions offered up back in the 30s and 40s.. it takes some real skill to be able to pull that off and Jake has accomplished it with seeming ease!
Nobody home has a harder cutting blues edge than the previous tracks with it's driving rhythm and superb guitar work that is now an expectation for anyone into Jake's approach to the blues. Vocal treatments become a little more contemporary as the track moves forward but in each instance, the guitar is like honey to the bee.. a symbiotic realtionship between extraordinary skills. I just want you to remember is, like Rainbow talkin', another of Jake's faithful to tradition blues offerings where you can quite easily feel like your back in the Delta with a true bluesman holding you spellbound for however long you need to be. It's Jakes versatility in style that allows such things to happen, and on this album... it happens alot!
Whether Jake actually realizes it or not, he wrote Overseas blues for me and it's going to be really hard for anyone to convince me otherwise! Besides that one simple fact, we're treated to magnificent slide work here and the lyrics are absolutely superb in a slow blues song that's sure to be a very popular live track. But then, come to think of it, the entire album would be a pleasure to hear live! How long? begins with a standard blues feel but that's quickly manipulated into Jake's blues feel with realtive ease. The guitar appears to have a mind of it's own in it's effort to collaborate with the man that's making it all happen... Jake's melancholic vocal and the 'eleccy' slide work go together really nicely... it's blues.. by a true bluesman.
Howlin at the moon ends this little gem of an album with some astonishing blues guitar meandering over and across a nice, classy stream of rhythm provided by the drums and bass. Watch out for the final short drum piece that takes over from the guitar. Both instruments have a kind of casual expression in places you didn't think it could possibly exist and that pretty much goes for the entire album. Jake Lee, aka Texas jake, aka King of slide, is a great soldier of the blues and this album spells that out loud and clear whatever way you look at it.
Colin Lynch - September 19 2004
