|
The
Boneshakers
Book of Spells
Pointblank |
With the current incarnation of The
Boneshakers releasing a new album next month as
well as a killer single, "Salty," let's take
another look at their first album from 1997.
It's still one of my favorite albums in my
collection and I still have my Boneshakers
t-shirt somewhere in my dresser. This review
came from a time when we were running shorter
summaries, so I'll add a few more paragraphs.
Great, great album!
From May 1997
- If The
Boneshakers'
new CD, Book
of Spells (Pointblank),
claimed to be a blues album, I might have made it this month's
Pick Hit.
The Boneshakers music defies description, but let's give it a
try and call it funky R&B/acid soul. Singer Sweetpea Atkinson
and guitarist Randy Jacobs are best known for their work with
the group 'Was (Was Not)'.
To be honest, Atkinson is the best soul singer I've heard in
years. His voice contains the requisite grittiness, which belies
the man's nickname "Sweetpea." Book
of Spells kicks
off with a burning version of James Brown's "Cold Sweat." The
bluesiest thing here is the original "Part Time Man," a soulful
rowdy blues featuring a nice harmonica break.
Content added
June 2025 - Atkinson growls out a call to action to bring
people together (even more important 28 years later) on "Break
Down The Walls," with funky guitar work from Jacobs. There's
also a cover of David and Don Was' tune "I Blew Up The United
States," one that probably wouldn't have been released if this
album came out after 9/11/2001.
For more
romantic numbers, check out Atkinson's soulful and passionate
vocals on "I'm Living All Of My Days For You," the Jacobs
original "The One You Run To," and Latimore's southern blues
classic, "Let's Straighten It Out."
My statement in
the first paragraph of the May 1997 review about not making it
that month's Pick Hit because it wasn't 'blues enough' reflected
the tighter boundaries of what we considered blues back then.
In today's
changing blues environment, Book of Spells would have
been an easy choice for our Pick Hit. 18 years later, I'm glad
to finally make it one of our featured albums. While Sweetpea is
no longer with us, it's good that the band is still doing their
thing and that Book of Spells is still available for
digital download. An essential purchase!
--- Bill Mitchell
