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Jimmy Thackery: Wide Open

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: White River Records
Released: 2014.06.24
Time:
 72:27
Category: Blues, Blues-Rock
Producer(s): Jimmy Thackery, Mark Puskarich
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.jimmythackery.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Change Your Tune (J.Thackery) - 6:54
[2] Minor Step (J.Thackery) - 5:38
[3] Coffee and Chicken (J.Thackery) - 5:56
[4] King of Livin' On My Own (J.Thackery) - 3:47
[5] Hard Luck Man (J.Thackery) - 5:46
[6] Shame, Shame, Shame (J.Thackery) - 8:00
[7] You Brush Me Off (J.Thackery) - 6:37
[8] Someone Who's Cryin' Tonight (J.Thackery) - 7:02
[9] Keep My Heart from Breakin' (J.Thackery) - 5:31
[10] Swingin' Breeze (J.Thackery) - 4:56
[11] Run Like the Wind (J.Thackery) - 6:30
[12] Pondok (J.Thackery) - 5:50

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Jimmy Thackery - Guitars, Vocals, Photography, Producer
Mark (Bumpy Rhoades) Bumgarner - Bass
George (Bam Bam) Sheppard - Drums, Percussion

Reese Wynans - Hammond B3 Organ in [8]

Mark Puskarich - Producer
Cody Romshak - Engineer
Alan Grossman - Photography
Peguin Graphiocs II - Cover Design
Harry Turner - Management

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2014 CD White River Records 888174769929

This studio CD is an all-original compilation from Thackery that will take you on an emotional journey from primitive foot-stompin' greazy Blues to dazedreamy harmonic chord guitar instrumentals, to rockin get up out of your chair dance music.



Wide Open. What a perfect name for the newest release by Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers! This album knows no boundaries and is in fact wide open to whatever Thackery was inspired to record. And his inspiration took two years to come to fruition. He began writing for this album back in 2012 with final recording finally wrapping in April of this year. There's something here for many musical tastes, as long as it's not too far from the blues/jazz/rock vein. In fact it is so diverse that listening to the album from start to finish makes it seem disjointed at times. But that does not diminish the quality. For when a song is good, it's very very good. When it's not, it's still very listenable. Two tracks had been previously released for download from iTunes, the blues-rocker Hard Luck Man and the melancholy Someone Who's Crying Tonight. And while I would consider Hard Luck Man very good and one of many highlights on this release, Someone Who's Crying Tonight is just OK. So what's good about it you say? Well if you are a fan of the DC guitar masters Roy Buchanan or Danny Gatton, Thackery delivers Pondok which is an instrumental that has elements of both artist's styles. Thackery, then guitarist for the Nighthawks, emerged as the King of Washington DC guitar after Gatton and Buchanan passed and he obviously learned from both. It is the last track on the release and it's laid back tempo belies some of the guitar artistry Thackery displays. OK so now you know how it ends, lets go back to the beginning. The album starts off with Change Your Tune a jazz infused swing with vocals and is followed by a beautiful jazz influenced instrumental in a minor key called Minor Step. I must confess, Minor Step is one of my favorite tracks on the album. But quickly Jimmy gets the Drivers to switch gears to a real blues called Coffee & Chicken. This tune pays homage to anyone who ever ate a bucket of Kentucky Fried and strong coffee for breakfast. For the humorous minded there's King of Livin' On My Own which could darn near be a country tune. It makes you realize there's a whole lot of truth in humor. If you like a slow gut-wrenching blues, then You Brush Me Off is for you. Thackery gives Ronnie Earl a run for his money in the slow blues instrumental category on this one. I'd say this is by far the favorite cut on the album of my wife, the fabulous Mrs. Dog. It's right up there for me too. Some extremely tasteful guitar on this track, not flashy, but just right. What can I say? You need to hear it. Thackery then returns to blues-rock again with Keepin' My Heart From Breakin'. This is closer to what you may have come to expect from Jimmy's earlier albums with The Drivers. With Swingin' Breeze, Jimmy returns to the jazz style that started the album. It's the kind of song you might expect on a Duke Robillard or Herb Ellis album and it's refreshing to hear Thackery play in this style. Run Like The Wind is done acoustically and is a haunting ballad with blues connotations. These are all original compositions. I believe it's the first Jimmy Thackery album that does not contain a cover tune of any sort. I go way back with Jimmy Thackery. back to the Psyche-Delly (Bethesda, MD), Rewster's Roost (Taylorsville, MD), and 8X10 Club (Baltimore, MD) even Heinz Hall (Pittsburgh, PA) days. And I believe this is an honest and true statement of where Jimmy is in his life right now. Wide Open is not an album made for commercial success (what blues album is these days except Joe Bonamassa releases?) but it's like an abstract piece of art. With that I'd recommend that you take a listen. There's surely something in there that will speak to you. 

bmansbluesreport.com



Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers are back again, this time with a full CD of all original music. Work began on Wide Open in 2012 at Tony’s Treasures in Cadiz, OH but apparently the band wasn’t happy with the results and only two songs were held over from those sessions. As much as I’d love to hear what they kept in the vault, Wide Open clearly demonstrates the care the band puts into the music. Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers have delivered a stellar, boundless record that captures the spirit of cross country road trip into the big unknown.

The disc starts off with a drum roll and a clean toned guitar, settling into a laid back groove perfectly suited to Thackery’s conversational vocals. “Change Your Tune” is an exercise in restraint, from the tempo to the guitar tones and slowly bent notes of the guitar fills and solos. Jimmy Thackery shows off his mastery of the instrument without showing off and keeps you hanging on each note, especially in the outro solo. The mid tempo blues continue with “Minor Step” which finds the master of the Stratocaster playing a Gibson arch top. The instrumental piece has elements from the jazz greats like Wes Montgomery and Grant Green, 50’s rock tunes like “Sleepwalk”, and Latin blues in its rhythms.

While the first two tracks have you thinking this is going to be a mellow trip on I-80 west of Cheyenne with the top down and Big Sky over head, “Coffee And Chicken” finds the band getting greasy and low down, on a dusty road outside of town, on the trail of something resembling a fresh cup of Joe and the Colonel’s greatest achievement. Jimmy turns up the gain, gets gritty with the tones, and he affects a Howlin’ Wolf rasp as he professes his chicken affliction and caffeine addiction.

Thackery’s lyrics are his secret weapon. He sings about common subjects, but his wordplay provides twists and turns of phrase that might leave you shaking your head, smiling, cringing, and laughing; maybe all at the same time. “Coffee And Chicken” might have him praying to the Colonel for a yardbird and cup of mud, but “King Of Livin’ On My Own” further shows off his deft wordplay and storytelling. The song is performed Jug Band style, with a jaunty gait, and almost Vaudevillian lyrics about a man who’s not unhappy to be recently thrust into living on his own. With a sly smile, Thackery delivers lines like “I threw the dishes in the tub, instead of all that rub a dub dub, I sprayed ‘em down with a high pressure garden hose.” Who hasn’t wanted to that once in a while? The king of living alone does it whenever damn well pleases. Altogether it’s a lyrical and musical treat, with Jimmy Thackery playing some engaging acoustic guitar licks under his tale of bachelorhood supremacy.

Jimmy Thackery pulls out the acoustic guitar again in “Run Like The Wind” and in “Shame, Shame, Shame” where it is accented by weeping slide licks that return us to the laid back road trip feel of Wide Open after the sharp, rough and rockin’ “Hard Luck Man” which put us in the passing lane for 5:47 with the pedal to the metal power chords and combustible fretwork. “Keep My Heart From Breakin’” is another tough blues rocker and Thackery unleashes some his most caustic soloing on Wide Open, with whammy bar dives and bent notes flying fast and furious.

“You Brush Me Off” is another low key instrumental, full of nuance and nimble fingered mood making guitar licks. Jimmy Thackery is obviously known for his guitar playing and on Wide Open he displays less histrionics and more subtlety. He expertly sets the moods, makes all the notes count and gives them plenty of room to breathe in the Wide Open. It’s a side of his playing that can be overlooked when discussing his talents. Jimmy Thackery plays fast, he plays wild, he plays loud; but he plays for the song and this record seems to be all about giving the notes space. After a few listens, you’ll pick up on the impact this approach has on the music and it will hopefully enhance your own enjoyment.

The disc closes with a shimmering instrumental that reminds us the heat coming off the highway on the horizon and that our trip through the Wide Open continues into the distance. The track was inspired by and named for the new Thackery home, called “Pondok” by the builders/previous owners. The translation from the South African/Indonesian is “shack or house with a tin roof” and it seems the previous owner and the Thackerys alike realize it’s not the materials that make a home.

Wide Open explores landscapes, soundscapes, homes, tones, and chicken bones. It takes us on the road, shows us the open spaces, and urges us to leave them alone. The Drivers display their knack for understated brilliance. Together, Jimmy Thackery and the band deliver an excellent new album that is not to be missed.

Blues Biscuits



If my math is correct, "Wide Open" marks the 22nd album released by Jimmy Thackery both during and since leaving the legendary D. C. based blues band, the Nighthawks to pursue his own career with various side projects like the Assassins, duos with the likes of John Mooney and David Raitt and fronting his backup band the Drivers.  At 61 years young, Thackery shows no sign of slowing down with one of his strongest efforts in years and even more impressively, his first cd of all original material.

 Jimmy's voice is in fine form on "Wide Open" and his playing has never sounded better.  The tracks were recorded over a period of about a year at Tony's Treasures in Cadiz, Ohio, and from the sound of it, it is no wonder that Jimmy calls it his favorite studio of late as the production is simply gorgeous.  However, it's the material on "Wide Open" that sets this one apart.

Clocking in at a generous hour and 12 minutes, "Wide Open" opens with a tasty shuffle, "Change Your Tune", that is reminiscent of some of the strong lyrical material he co-wrote with the great Keith Sykes back on "Sinner Street" but with a more nuanced delivery.  The strong opener is followed by the beautiful uptown jazz of "Minor Step", one of three tracks on “Wide Open” that illustrate why every young guitar player should listen to his playing.  “Wide Open” features some of his most mature and realized work to date.  Young players could learn much from tracks like “Minor Step” , “You Brush Me Off “and “Swingin' Breeze” which showcase Thackery’s virtuoso jazz phrasing and dynamics which are on par with the greats, not for showy gimmicks, but rather a tone that goes straight to your soul, simply beautiful.

 After “Minor Step”  Thackery changes gears and subjects on the next track , "Coffee and Chicken", a knock off  ode  to gastronomy on the road which will surely cause Feat and Butterfield fans to grin with its lyrical homages (which I leave up to the listener to figure out).   Next up is about the only track on the disc of suitable length for radio play, the 3:49 minute “King of Living On My Own”.  Jimmy hits just the right spot lyrically and music wise on a topic that should be familiar to his fans, dealing with suddenly finding yourself single again and trying to put a brave face on it.  “King of Living On My Own” weds light hearted, humorous lyrics set to rootsy Americana music that should, if there is any justice, garner it some commercial radio play.
For fans whose tastes lean more toward the hard stuff and power chords, Jimmy lets rip with “Hard Luck Man” complete with a fat, fuzzy guitar sound and his trademark sonic sculpting towards the track’s blistering end.

I won’t ruin the surprise by previewing every track on the disc but will simply state that there is not a clinker in the lot.  If you had to be critical about something one could question the length of a few of the tracks on an album where the majority are in the 6-8 minute range.   I for one like the flow and pacing on the album which gives continuity as opposed to so many of today’s cds that seem to be just a compilation of singles thrown together.

All in all Mr. Thackery & his Drivers (Jimmy never bothered to get a driver’s license over the years, hence the name) comprised of Mark "Bumpy Rhoades" Bumgarner on bass and George Sheppard on drums (in addition to their chauffeur duties) have good reason to be proud of this great sounding disc of all original material.  For fans of guitar driven  American roots music with the right tone, “Wide Open” would make the perfect soundtrack to  your summer road trip!

Sunday, June 29, 2014
thegreatrollcall.blogspot.co.at
 

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