2017 –Jimmy Zee
Release Date : July 1,
2017
By Phillip Smith;
Dec 15, 2017
What
You See is What You Get, the sixth album from Vancouver, BC’s
Jimmy Zee is a smoking hot album of blues-rock. Zee’s stand-out vocals
are packed with character and a whole lot of rasp. He sounds great alongside the guitar stylings
of Rob MacDonald and Tim Porter.
The Jimmy Zee Band also consists of singer Nadine States, bassist
Miles Hill, drummer Joel Fountain, Harpdog Brown on
harmonica, Darryl Havers on keys, and saxophonist Steve Hilliam.
A cool bluesy riff hooks me fast in title track, “What
You See is What You Get” and sets the stage for a little swampy fun. I love the harmonica Harpdog doles out
in the twangy country-fried “Backroads”. The backwoods energy changes in a most interesting
way when Rick Threat drops by to inject his high-voltage free-flowing
rap verses for the finale. Goosebumps
shoot up and down my spine when I hear the opening notes of “I Ride Alone”. With guitars blazing, drums crashing, and harmonica
blasting, the album plunges into fourth gear with Zee delivering the
goods with ferocity and true grit. This rocking
anthem, topped off with Cree-Aboriginal chants from States, is absolutely
brilliant.
The sweet funky groove of “Money” slides swiftly in as
Hilliam steps in on baritone sax.
Porter tears it up on guitar to put the icing on this stellar tightly
wound jam. The song segues seamlessly right into another one of my favorites, “My
Old Lady is a Freakshow”. Revving from
the get-go, the hook is groovy and unavoidably contagious. Like the great Joe Cocker, Zee’s
performance is exuberant and hard-hitting.
The
Jimmy Zee Band’s polished and unique spin on blues-rock is
what makes What You See is What You Get
such a fabulous listen.
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