*** Smokey Wilson

THE MAN FROM MARS

(Bullseye Blues)

Smokey Wilson means business. This 61-year-old character has lit up LA nights with fiery blues guitar and earthy vocals since the early 1970s. A truck driver in his native Mississippi before moving West, Wilson was for many years the owner, proprietor, and star attraction at the Pioneer Club, near Watts. A smattering of Wilson recordings date back 25 years, but Smokey had little more than a sterling word-of-mouth reputation before Bullseye signed him up a few years ago.

The Man from Mars is no victory lap for a blues veteran who lucked into a sunset record deal. It is a ghetto-grooving guitar onslaught as bright and intense as a comet. Wilson's hard-blues sound comes by way of Howlin' Wolf (to whom he shares a scary vocal resemblance), Jimmy Reed, and others who laid it down funky and strong. His guitar playing is pure emotion, with bent notes straining the strings before crashing into quick, double-picked licks from the low registers. His singing is harrowing and homegrown.

-- Bill Kisliuk