John’s Blues Pick October 2017 – Jimmy Zee
It’s been a while between albums for showman/entrepreneur Jimmy Zee. He has assembled a fine cast for his new songs, but, as usual, the gravelly-voiced Jimmy Zee is what you get and what you want. He delivers a hard-driving blues-rock set. The title song is a fine opener, imploring you to be yourself. Annabelle Chvostek is on background vocals on this one but Nadine States adds her wonderfully effective background vocals to almost every other song.
Jimmy Zee is often pictured with a guitar but this time out Rob MacDonald & Tim Porter get to play those. The rock solid engine room is Miles Hill on bass & Joel Fountain on drums. “Backroads” is a stone blues rocker, with Harpdog Brown wailing away and Jimmy Threat rapping over slide guitars as Zee wants you to get off the main roads. He does think you have to do this alone, as he sings on “I Ride Alone” over grinding guitars & harp, Nadine States adds some Cree chants. She also contributes especially striking background vocals to “Time Will Heal Everything”, a power ballad.
On “My Old Lady Is A Freak Show” it’s hard to tell if he’s singing about his lady or his car over those churning guitars & harp but they sure are rocking out. Acoustic is next for “Blind”, a song about a couple who’ve lost sight of their love that builds to a rousing climax. “You’re the Best It Can Get” is a little different, with Elliot Polsky on percussion and Terry Towson on muted trumpet playing over a funky rhythm on an uncharacteristically tender song. On “I’m No Good Without You”, dobro & electric slide power a rather attractive song of lost love.
His web site, www.zeeblues.com, shows he mostly plays around the greater Vancouver area. Well worth checking out.