Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jay Hooks: Jay Hooks

154

Jay Hooks: Jay Hooks

By

View read count
Jay Hooks: Jay Hooks
If you're into flashy, ear-splitting guitar pyrotechnics, check out Jay Hooks' self-titled debut on Provogue. The Houston native is an admirer of Johnny Winter, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and his best moments definitely call to mind those blues-rock guitar gods.

Even Hooks' slower blues tunes ("Straight Whiskey," "If Life Don't Kill You," "The Last Time I Left Memphis") sound wild on this release. Playing in a classic trio format, Hooks rips through 11 original numbers (most co-written with David Whitehead), and only decelerates for one solo acoustic cut, "When Your Lover Don't Love You." The latter is the weakest track on the album, if only because it showcases Hooks' singing more than his guitar work, and he's barely adequate in the vocal department. On most other songs, Hooks' hyperkinetic electric guitar compensates for his mediocre vocals.

"Where You Goin'" and "Hell on Heels" summon the spirit of Jimi Hendrix, while "Smothered" is a nasty Texas shuffle with Stevie Ray-like riffing. The instrumentals "Sling Shot" and "Take It to the House" positively burn through the speakers, while "Am I Supposed to Cry?" has a classic rock sound. "Voodoo Woman" is a swampy blues-rocker a la Johnny Winter. "Last Time I Left Memphis" has the deepest blues feeling of any track here.

Jay Hooks might want to follow the example of fellow Texan Smokin' Joe Kubek and hire a good vocalist. Singing clearly isn't his forte, but there's no question Hooks can wield an axe. There are enough thrilling guitar segments to recommend this CD to fans of in-your-face blues-rock guitar.

Track Listing

Easy Way Out; Straight Whiskey; Where You Goin'?; Smothered; If Life Don't Kill You (Lovin' Will); When Your Lover Don't Love You; Sling Shot; Am I Supposed to Cry?; Voodoo Woman; Hell on Heels; Last Time I Left Memphis; Take It to the House

Personnel

Jay Hooks (guitars, vocals); Marie Del Prete (bass); Joe Frenchwood (drums)

Album information

Title: Jay Hooks | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Provogue

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.