Smokin' Joe Kubek Band

September 19 - 26, 1 9 9 6 [Off the Record]

*1/2 Smokin' Joe Kubek Band

GOT MY MIND BACK

(Bullseye Blues)
Kubek is a big-framed Texas guitarslinger who backed Freddy King and toiled in the clubs -- and obscurity -- for years before hooking up with singer Bnois King and forming this band. More power to both. But I take no pleasure in hearing Bnois King's generally unexciting vocals. He manages to avoid injecting any personality or charisma, a couple of the elements that make up that ephemeral quality known as "soul," into just about everything he sings. Finally, when the CD's nearly over, he manages to give us a little craftsmanship, putting vibrato and melody and grit into producer Ron Levy's well-written ballad "Cryin' by Myself."
I'm not askin' for a lot here; just a performance that seems in touch with the emotional content of the material -- as opposed to King's usual seemingly rote delivery of lyrics. Kubek is a fiery guitarist, and his slow blues licks on "Cryin' by Myself," the post-Hendrix phase-shifted haze he generates on the instrumental "All the Love There Is," and his biting Freddie King injections throughout the CD's second instrumental, "Double or Nothing," go a long way. But not far enough to carry an entire album.
-- Ted Drozdowski
(Ask Smokin' Joe Kubek to play more guitar when he hits the House of Blues, 96 Winthrop Street in Harvard Square, this Friday, September 20. Call 491-BLUE.)