Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King - My Heart's In Texas (2006)

Anyone with enough cheek to call himself "Smokin' Joe" better have the goods to back it up; and if your last name is King, you shore 'nuf better be able to play the blues. The good news is that Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King acquit themselves nicely in this concert, recorded on New Year's Eve, 2005 in a Ft. Worth club. Both Texas bluesmen are fine guitarists. Kubek's sound is fast and fiery, with a hard, stinging tone somewhat akin to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, while King's playing is a jazzier, more melodic and idiosyncratic (and thus a little more interesting to listen to); while Kubek takes the lion's share of the soloing, the contrast in styles works best when they trade licks on two extended jams, "Crazy World" and "Where I Want to Be." King handles all the singing, recalling Albert King, while the rhythm section (Paul Jenkins on bass and drummer Ralph Powers) is solid and workmanlike. So what's not to like? Nothing, really--but there's nothing much to love, either. The eleven original tunes, all of them good but none of them exceptional, are drawn from standard genres (rockin' shuffle, slow ballad, minor key lament), but let's face it: in the absence of outstanding showmanship on anyone's part, we're really here for the guitar playing, and an hour or so of that should prove to be plenty. Extras include interviews with Kubek and King and an all-acoustic bonus track. --Sam Graham