I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (July 21, 2017), Act Like You Know, from King James & The Special Men and it's quite good. Opening with Special Man Boogie, band leader, lead vocalist and guitar player Jimmy Horn shows what he has up his sleeve and it won't be a secret for long. He has a great band. On this New Orleans/Latin flavored track Horn, joined by Ben Polcer on piano, Rob Snow on bass, John Rodli on guitar, Chris Davis on drums, Scott Frock on trumpet, Jason Mingledorff on tenor sax, Travis Blotzky on tenor sax and Dominick Grillo on bari sax these guys are tight. With Guitar Slim style, New Orleans R&B track, Baby Girl really sits in the groove with fat horns and super lead vocals, highlighted by classic guitar riffs. Eat That Chicken has a cool strut and really nice guitar soloing, capped by a super tenor sax solo. Very nice. In the style of Ray Charles, Tell Me (What You Want Me To Do) has great soulful vocals. The strong piano lead, paired with Frock's trumpet work set the stage for excellent sax lead making this one of my favorites on the release. Another classic NO style track, The End Is Near, has powerful sax, gritty guitar work and strong piano reinforcement, but it's a terrific vocal on this track that gives it real teeth. Excellent! Wrapping the release is 9th Ward Blues with it's Bo Diddley beat and and NO party atmosphere. This track is a full out instrumental blast and clocking in at nearly 14 minutes, is a super closer.
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