Jimmy+thackery

Jimmy Thackery created a distinctively raw, powerful guitar style and established a reputation as a spectacular soloist who is widely considered to be one of the finest guitar players of his generation. These newly re-mastered recordings chosen from three long out of print albums dating from 1992 to 1998 represent one of the most creative periods of his illustrious career.

Jimmy Thackery's eight CDs for the Blind Pig label rank with the finest work of his career. A passionate blues guitarist and an effective singer, Thackery brings creativity and a freshness to his renditions of blues, blues ballads, and near-blues. This sampler draws its 13 selections from the eight releases, putting the emphasis on the leader. Thackery is heard in guitar-bass-drums trios for eight of the selections and joined by various guests (including one appearance apiece by guitarists Lonnie Brooks, Duke Robillard, and John Mooney) on the other five tracks. The Essential Jimmy Thackery lives up to its name and serves as a perfect introduction to the bluesman's music.

On his eighth album, Jimmy Thackery churns out rugged, no-nonsense, authoritative rock, with a passion and commitment that seep through every track. Thackery's grinding guitar and growling voice pound out each song as if he's playing for thousands of people. He is produced once again by the experienced Jim Gaines who, through his work with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins, Tommy Castro, and Santana, knows his way around a blues-rock record. The uncut, Stonesy chug of "Never Enough" and "Lovin' My Money" is offset by the harder-edged funk of "Grab the Rafters" and the easier jazz shuffle of "Bad News."

The tour to support 2002's Whiskey Store album featuring guitarists Jimmy Thackery and Tab Benoit is captured here in all of its raging six-string glory. Not just for those who own the studio album, this disc repeats six tracks, but they are overhauled and extended so radically (the title cut is nearly tripled in length to a nine-minute blowout), that it's far from a cash-generating retread. Although the formidable Double Trouble rhythm section stayed home, road tested Thackery's saxist Jimmy Carpenter jumps aboard, as does B-3 keyboardist Ken Faltinson, and both ignite the concert sparks substantially.

Ex-Nighthawks guitarist Jimmy Thackery has been playing his own brand of blues-tinged rock as a solo artist for some twenty years now (he left the Nighthawks in 1987) and there's no denying that he's a first-class guitarist with a sharp ear for tone and a knack for perfectly placed fills and evocative leads. His quavering, shaky voice is a problem, though, and while he conjures up the feel of an old veteran country singer on some of his slower numbers, his singing often lacks the punch, power and sass of his guitar playing on the more upbeat material. You don't buy a Jimmy Thackery album for the vocals, though, and fans of his crisp guitar work won't be disappointed at all with Solid Ice, which comes packed with wonderful riffs and multi-tracked leads.

Guitarist-singer Jimmy Thackery's 1998 set stretches beyond the blues. A ferocious rockish guitarist with a vocal style that ranges from shouting to mellow, Thackery is easily the main star of his disc. However the other members of his Drivers are strong (Al Gamble on organ and piano, bassist Michael Patrick and drummer Mark Stutso), and there are features for guest accordionist Chubby Carrier on "Take Me With You When You Go" (a zydeco romp) and singer Reba Russell ("Dancing on Broken Glass") plus a helpful appearance apiece by Lonnie Brooks and Joe Louis Walker. From blues to rock with touches of zydeco, country, pop and folk, Thackery constantly stretches himself and gives the music his best.

Trouble Man is a hard-driving blues-rock album, with more emphasis on the "rock" than Thackery's other releases. It slows down just long enough for the slightly dark "Lovin' You Right" and the jazzy "Anchor to a Drowning Man," arguably the best cut here. "Doin' 100" and the instrumental "Hang Up and Drive" have a strong Stevie Ray Vaughan sound. Thackery applies a steady, yet light-hearted and uptempo pace to William Harris' "Bullfrog," which has also been covered by the likes of Dave Hole and John Hammond. The K.C. Douglas cover "Mercury Blues" has been recorded by everyone from Steve Miller to Alan Jackson (remember the "Crazy 'bout a Ford truck" commercials?), but this is one of the best versions you're likely to hear.

True Stories is veteran blues guitarist Jimmy Thackery's Telarc follow-up to We Got It. On this freewheeling disc, Thackery slightly peppers his modern electric blues with elements of rock, soul, and country. The presence of saxophonist Jimmy Carpenter adds a rockin' aspect to True Stories that the disc would have lacked without him. Highlights of the 11 tracks include Carpenter's sax vehicle "Crazy 'Bout a Saxophone," Thackery's original "Got It Going On," and Roy Buchanan's epic "The Messiah Will Come," the disc's tour de force clocking in at nearly nine and a half minutes.

Singer, songwriter, and guitar virtuoso Jimmy Thackery carved an enviable niche for himself in the world of electric blues. Known for his gritty, blue-collar approach and marathon live shows, Thackery was for many years part of the Nighthawks, one of the hardest-working blues bar bands in North America. By the late '80s, he was touring and recording under his own name, and finding widespread acceptance on the festival circuit. His hard-edged, tough-as-nails approach to guitar playing and his trio's driving rhythm section holds appeal for fans of both the straight-ahead blues of Muddy Waters and the roots rock of Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky.

A collection of acoustic delights recorded by Jimmy Thackery and John Mooney in 1985. Vintage blues and ragtime played by a pool in Jamaica. Guitars, mandocello, mandolins and guttural vocals are backed by native tree frogs (which sound a lot like crickets).