The Boneshakers – Live To Be This
15 tracks/55 minutes
Randy Jacobs founded the Boneshakers in 1996. He’s an amazing guitarist from Detroit whose musical style is funk filled and quite cool. He worked with Sweetpea Atkinson after meeting him in Detroit in 1980. They worked with the band Was (Not Was) and they toured extensively in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. They broke up after their 1992 tour with Dire Straits. Randy and Sweet Pea then independently worked with a plethora of music icons.
When Randy wanted to form a new band, Sweet Pea called and they reunited. Bonnie Raitt suggested the name and the Boneshakers were formed. Sweetpea passed away in 2020 and his replacement Jenny Langer strives to continue and expand the Boneshaker’s legacy. Langer is a singer with a powerful voice. At 28 years of age she was inducted into the Virginia Blues Hall of Fame. In 2020 she won the International Blues Challenge (IBC) for Best Self-Produced Album. Her partnership with Jacobs makes for a great combination of talent. This is the Boneshaker’s 11th album and is on Mike Zito’s Gulf Coast Records.
The cast of characters her is huge. Langer sings and Jacobs handles guitar, bass, vocals, slide dobro and clavinet. Greg Bissonette handles the drums, and four artists share the duties on keyboards: Jon Gilutin (six tracks), John “Papa” Gros (2 tracks), Rodney Lee (3 tracks) and Ron Reinhardt (one track). Joe Sublett and Mark Pender provide horn support and Lenny Castor supplies percussive help. Backing vocals on 4 cuts are provided by Harry Bowens and Derrick Harris. Other guests are noted below.
The album opens with “I’ll Kick A Brick (For My Man)” and features Ron Holloway on the sax solo. This is a funkalicious cut with killer guitar, clavinet, trumpet and sax along with Langer’s killer vocals. “They Say I’m Different” has a slick groove with cool guitar and organ. Langer’s vocals are poignant and in your face. “How Do You Spell Love” is next. Langer growls and sings with power in this funk filled track. There’s some really nice guitar and well done horns here, too.
“I Need Somebody.” The vocals are great, the horns and keys are super and the guitar is solid. Another winner! The Delta mix of “Dobro Jones” follows. It’s Jacobs on dobro and vocals and then Langer joins in for a duet– really nicely done. Charlie Musselwhite joins the fray on harp for “Evil No More.” Stinging guitar and harp go back and forth in this big number. Langer delivers another enormous vocal performance, too.
“I Am The Cool” has Jacobs up in front, Don Was is on upright bass, and David Garza is on sax. They are The Cool. Jazzy, funky, slick stuff and the rest of the band helps add to the coolness. “Here I Am” features Reinhardt on keys, Holly Montgomery and Leslie Fisher Jr. on backing vocals. Jacobs adds a stellar guitar solo with neat effects and Langer continues to sing with power and grit. “Salty” is next and Langer is joined on vocals by the legendary Bobby Rush. It’s an outstanding duet with excellent organ and guitar work.
“Don’t Deny Me” follows next and here we have Jimmy Carpenter on sax and Coco Montoya on guitar adding some great licks to the mix. Langer sings with nice pacing, the guitar rings clearly and the sax is beautifully done. Another amazing cut! “Took A Trip” opens with some big guitar and Langer takes over with horns in support. Jacobs picks out a delightful little solo and the organ take us homes in this bouncy and fun cut. “Tears Of The World” is a funky ballad with Tully Winfield backing Jenny. We get another stinging guitar solo and matching sax to savor here.
“Ain’t Good Enough For Me” is a breathy cut with another super guitar solo. The low country mix of “Dobro Jones” follows, similar to the prior adaptation but more Piedmont than Delta is timbre; well done! They conclude with “Cake And The Candle,” a somber ballad with Langer emoting and with an ethereal guitar solo that is followed by a quartet of backing vocalists supporting and building it up for Langer. They are Valerie Pinkston, Michael Mayo, Scott Mayo and Charlean Carmon. Jenny then takes things down and then home to conclude a beautifully done song. Very pretty and well done!
This is a great album with superb musicians giving it their all. The vocals are great. The guitar is impeccable. The horns and keyboards give us a beautiful backdrop of music to enjoy. The guests all do outstanding work. This is funked up blues with a cool and contemporary feel that I think all blues fans can embrace and thoroughly enjoy!
