The Smoke Wagon Blues Band The Ballad of Albert Johnson

The Smoke Wagon Blues Band
The Ballad of Albert Johnson
Self-Produced

Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, The Smoke Wagon Blues Band has been laying down its blues and rhythm grooves for over twenty years. The band consists of Corey Lueck/ Vocals, Harp; Mike Stubbs/ Guitar; Brandon Bruce/ Piano, Organ; Gordon Aeichele/ Sax; Jason Colavecchia/ Bass; and Tibor Lukacs/ Drums. Steve Sherman, who recorded, engineered, and produced this album, also adds guitar, percussion, and backing vocals. Lueck, who is the founding member of the band, was involved in writing the 12 originals on this recording album. There is one cover performance.

There are some blues-rock trappings on a few of the performances, such as the ZZ Top grunge feel on the title track. It is a medium tempo number about a notorious Canadian outlaw who wounded and killed members of the RCMP, with the ensuing manhunt That captured the Canadian public's attention. It introduces us to Lueck's gravel and grit vocals and the band's tight backing. Following is Lueck's expressive singing on a salute to "Memphis Soul," a performance with booting sax and greasy organ.

To this listener, the next three tracks stand out. There is the original, "Ain't Gonna Be Your Fool," that is evocative of the Charles Brown classic "Get Yourself Another Fool." Lueck's moody vocal is superbly supported here. Then comes a cover of Fats Domino's first record, "The Fat Man." Bruce makes a capable effort at imitating Domino's boogie-woogie piano. Lueck even imitates Domino's trumpet-like scatting before his brief harp solo, which is followed by Aeichele's sax solo. The group stays in a New Orleans groove with the original "Lay Say Lay," with Bruce emulating Professor Longhair, while the rhythm section gets a solid mambo groove.

Other tracks include the rock-flavored "Sacrifice," the strutting stutter-step shuffle groove of "Poor Man Blues," the reflective "A Ballad For Cheryl," and the spirited closing "Steaming Comrades Harp Boogie" that is set to a Bo Diddley groove. Lueck is a very good, sometimes exceptional singer and a capable harmonica player showcased with the band's strong accompaniment. One misstep is a flawed attempt at honky-tonk country, "On the Road Again." Otherwise, this is a well-played, most entertaining set of blues and blues-infused tunes.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is "Sacrifice" from the album.