2024 – Fervor Records
By Phillip Smith; Sep. 28, 2024
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
King of the Roll, the latest
album from BillyLee Janey Band is seventeen tracks of all-original hard-driving
blues-rock, and I absolutely dig it. I’ve been a fan of BillyLee’s work
for quite a long time, and he never ceases to amaze me. With Janey on all
guitars and vocals, he is joined with Tommy T-Bone Giblin (Lonnie
Brooks) on B3 and clavinet, Dan ‘DJ’ Johnson on bass, Bryce Janey
on bass guitar, Eric Douglas on drums, and Troy Harper guest
drummer on “Lucky Star”.
Setting a strong impression, the album leads off with title-track “King of the Roll” a song loaded with a funky rhythm and searing guitar licks. Douglas’ commanding approach on drums fuels this smoking track. The rolling sound of Giblin’s B3 sets a groovy background for Janey as he lays down the law on “Killin’ Flow”. In a fabulously smoldering performance, Janey and band conjure memories of the ferocious derecho which tore through Iowa in August of 2020 in “Iowa Hurricane”. That was a day I will never forget, and the song captures the event in a most honest way. I love the propulsive “Hellbound Nite Ryder”. The song guides the listener down a mesmerizing journey of Janey’s guitar mastery. “Rain Fallin’” is an amazing track with a jazz-soaked rhythm which brilliantly takes me back to 2008 when a hundred-year flood wreaked havoc across Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hearing Janey cut loose on the nearly seven-minute long instrumental “Star Spangled Blues/Mountain Fire” is a genuine treat.
BillyLee Janey Band truly shines with King of the Roll. I highly recommend giving this album a listen.
For more information about
BillyLee Janey, visit https://fervor-records.com/artist/billylee-janey/
Check out previous PhillyCheeze
reviews and photos of BillyLee Janey with this link:
https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Billylee+Janey
