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| When I was merely an infant, in 1955, Rob (Ribeye) Thacker was busy getting introduced, at age 8, to one of my favourite bluesmen, Mr. Sam "Lightnin�" Hopkins, in the sleepy backwoods of Centerville, Texas! Two years later he would begin his career as a chanteur of the blues, while shining people�s shoes. On Bad Situation he remembers these roots with a tribute to �Shoeshine Charlie� (and Antone�s Shoeshine Boys), a great little swing-shuffle. Some 45 years later, Ribeye & The Texas Bluesblasters have been taking Texas and �Down Under� by storm. Formerly from Dallas, Ribeye is now based in what is known as �The Live Music Capital of the World� - Austin, Texas. In 1999, he played himself in an Austin-made movie called �Rock Opera� (Bob Ray). I remember contacting Rob (Ribeye) Thacker after listening to a few preview songs from the CD on his website (www.texasbluesblasters.com) and challenging him on one of the tracks there, called �You Got Me Dizzy�. I stated my belief that it was a blatant rip-off of Jimmy Reed�s �Ain�t That Lovin� You, Baby�, to which accusation he responded that a number of these old blues guys had freely sampled from each other�s licks and that it was nearly impossible to give credit to the proper source. Upon receiving the actual CD from him, I noticed he had, in fact, credited this song to Jimmy Reed. Another observation I had initially made is the uncanny resemblance between Ribeye�s vocals and style and those of Jack de Keyzer. This still rings true upon revisiting this music two years later, particularly on Marc Benno�s �Hit the Bottom� (Ribeye�s lyrical equivalent to Jack�s �I Need a Break�), �Thang About Love� (G. Nicholson) and Rob�s own �Hi Fi Momma�, with alternating guitar and piano breaks. This kick-ass collection of blues-rockers satisfies from all viewpoints, no matter which instrument, tempo and rhythm you are fixated on. It�s all here in spades � the slow and fast shuffles, the hard-drivin� boogies, the down and dirty blues, and the slow-blues ballads. This wide variety of styles is provided by a multitude of players, too � guitarists Keith Bradley, Van Wilks (on slide), (New Zealander) Billy T.K. Jr. and David �K�, bassists Chuck Morrow, Pete MacLaren and Zak Johnson, drummers �Uncle� John Turner, Karen Biller and Mike �Hurricane� Gage. Spicing it up further is harp player Jeff �White Chocolate� Clark and keyboardists Grey �Greybone� Gregson and Harry Pearce. Mr. Thacker takes solo songwriting credits on half of the 10 tracks, and, apart from the aforementioned �You Got Me Dizzy�, they are �truly� original compositions that are well-constructed, interesting and totally unique from each other. Rob�s �Too Many Teardrops� stands out from the run-of-the mill slow-blues genre with the excellent keyboarding skills of Grey �Greybone� Gregson and the Albert Collins-influenced guitar work. Speaking of Mr. Collins, �Ribeye�s Barbecue� (a Bradley-Chillari-Thacker collaboration) is dedicated specifically to this man�s musical influence. Another collaboration (Thacker-Tokahika) is the manically-paced drummers� workout, �Voo Doo Chickin� Blues�. �Goin� Down Under� is a tribute to the music-loving women of New Zealand and Australia, with some first-hand experience no doubt gained from the band�s tours of 1996 and 1999. The last I heard of the troupe was that they were returning to New Zealand for a �Millenium 2000 Tour�. |
| BAD SITUATION - RIBEYE & THE TEXAS BLUESBLASTERS (Maya Records - 2000) |
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