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10/1/2004

Gordon Baxter

The very name the Bo-Keys sets you thinking of the Mar-Keys and the Bar-Kays. There is some justification too, since the Bo-Keys band leader and bass player, Scott Bomar, wanted the band to reflect that Memphis soul sound epitomised by the music of the Stax and Hi labels. The idea started when Bomar had to put together a band to back the legendary Sir Mack Rice, and although it has taken a while to get to the final line-up, "The Royal Sessions" suggest that it has been well worth the wait. The stellar cast comprises Ronnie Williams (B3), Willie Hall, Charlie 'Skip' Pitts (the guitar player on Isaac Hayes' "Theme from Shaft"), and a couple of classy younger musicians, like Bomar, Marc Franklin (trumpet) and Jim Spake (tenor sax), who have played with Rufus Thomas, Ike Turner, Bobby Bland and Al Green. All that was left was to find the right studio... of course, it had to be Willie Mitchell's Royal Studio.

The Hammond organ on the opening bars of "Coming Home Baby" takes you to the church, and lets you know that you are in for a treat. The band then slides in to set a very cool, and very funky groove as they lay the groundwork for the rest of the album. Although it is a cover, seven of the ten tracks here are originals, starting with "Deuce and a Quarter" which would not have sounded out of place on Stax in its heyday. Like most of the tracks here it is essentially an instrumental, although Chuck D drops by to do his DJ bit.

The quality of the album never wavers, as guitar, horns, organ and rhythm section lay down track after track of some of the most soulful grooves to have come out of Memphis in recent years. It makes no odds whether they are covering "Back At The Chicken Shack," rocking along with "My Country Loves Me," or paying a slow wistful tribute on "I Remember Stax," the Bo-Keys do it all with considerable aplomb, right through to the closing jam(?) of "Bling Bling,".

"The Royal Sessions" is a cracker of an album. If you have been looking for a 21st Century Memphis Soul Stew, then this is where you can find it. Everything fits together just about perfectly. Although the band had its roots in 1988, it is really cooking now, and "The Royal Sessions" shows that they are definitely hot. Anyone with an interest in the Memphis sound will want a piece of this, and it would also be well received by fans of groups like the James Taylor Quartet. One of <b>the</b> albums of the year.

"This review is copyright © 2004 by Gordon Baxter, and Blues On Stage at: www.mnblues.com, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without permission." Used with permission.