JANE LEE HOOKER
NO B!
RUF RECORDS 1229
WADE IN THE WATER–MEAN TOWN BLUES–I BELIEVE TO MY SOUL–BUMBLE BEE–IN THE VALLEY–FREE ME–THE HUNTER–CHAMPAGNE AND REEFER–DIDN’T IT RAIN–MANNISH BOY–SHAKE FOR ME
With five female members from avant-garde bands as varied as Nashville Pussy, The Wives, and Bad Wizard, Jane Lee Hooker is ready to literally kick ass and take names with their raw, raucous debut, “No B!,” on Ruf Records. Doin’ it to death on this set is Danger Athens on vocals, Cool Whip Houston on drums, High Top on guitar, T-Bone Gorin on guitar and Hail Mary Z on bass, these women bring the attitude of their native New York and the energy of classic punk and garage rock to this collection that will sho’ nuff get your attention!
This is take-no-prisoners, punch-in-the-face, stone cold rockin’ blues all the way thru. The ladies intended to create an album in the spirit of Muddy’s “Hard Again” album from the mid-Seventies, on which Johnny Winter played, and damned if they didn’t succeed! The party starts, if you can believe it, sorta “in the church,” with the sanctified and testifyin’ grooves of “Wade In The Water.” That vibe is revisited a little later with the spirited “Didn’t It Rain,” each done with guitars fully ablaze and Cool Whip poundin’ her heart out. You can allmost feel the ghost of John Dawson Winter III on the mile-a-minute frenzy of “Mean Town Blues,” while the band original, “In The Valley,” updates the Crossroads tale and spits in the face of ol’ Satan himself, keepin’ him from making another “deal.”
They pay tribute to Muddy with fiery takes of “Champagne And Reefer,” and absolutely rock the hell outta the stop-time smoke and fire of the title cut, “Mannish Boy!”
Our favorite captured the vibe the ladies are after. You can almost feel the sex sweat drippin’ off Danger’s forehead as she sings a tune popularized by Memphis Minnie, boasting of the prowess of her “Bumble Bee,” with that “stinger as long as my right arm!”
If Jane Lee Hooker ever drives up to your front door in a drop-top Camaro, do yourself a favor—jump in and hang on for the ride of a lifetime, with “No B!” blastin’ from the speakers!! Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.
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