Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!

iTunes Review

Austin’s Black Joe Lewis doesn’t adulterate his mix of old-school R&B and vintage blues-rock with any 21st-century additives. Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is! is a sweat-drenched throwback to the soul shouters and party combos of the ‘60s, aimed squarely at the loins and legs. Clearly a student of James Brown and Otis Redding, Lewis constructs his sound around unstoppable grooves and accents them with blistering brass. “Gunpowder,” “Boogie,” and “Bobby Booshay” match Lewis’ hard-chopping guitar with thick bass lines and primal, skull-slamming drum work. Especially wild is “Big Booty Woman,” a trashy garage-rock number suggesting a mashup between Booker T. Jones and the Blues Magoos. “Humpin’” saunters to a beat crossing New Orleans rhythms with ‘70s-style funk. Lewis unleashes his pungent sense of humor on tracks like “Sugarfoot” and the hilarious “Get Yo S**t,” and he can sober up and smolder on legit blues tunes like “Master Sold My Baby” as well. Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is! gets down, keeps it real and leaves you begging for more.