Artist.......: Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers
Album........: Wild Night Out !
Label........: Dixiefrog
Genre........: Blues
Catnr........: DFGCD 8431
Source.......: CD (LP)
Rip.date.....: 2009-10-30
Str.date.....: 1995-05-22
Quality......: 205kbps/44.1kHz/Joint Stereo
Url..........: http://www.jimmythackery.com/
track title time
1. Wild Night Out 5:32
2. You Upset Me Baby 5:55
3. The Stumble 5:10
4. If You Go 10:46
5. Empty Arms Motel 4:40
6. Edward's Blues 6:47
7. Flyin' Low 4:28
8. Trouble Man 5:35
9. Red House 7:00
10. I Don't Live Today 5:07
Runtime 61:00
Size 89.49
Release Notes:
Recorded live at Sullys in Dearborn, on November 12, 1994
Singer, songwriter, and guitar virtuoso Jimmy Thackery
carved an enviable niche for himself in the world of
electric blues. Known for his gritty, blue-collar approach
and marathon live shows, Thackery was for many years part
of the Nighthawks, one of the hardest-working blues bar
bands in North America. By the late '80s, he was touring
and recording under his own name, and finding widespread
acceptance on the festival circuit. His hard-edged,
tough-as-nails approach to guitar playing and his trio's
driving rhythm section holds appeal for fans of both the
straight-ahead blues of Muddy Waters and the roots rock of
Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky. Like the Nighthawks
and Grushecky's Houserockers, much of the material
Thackery performs can safely be called blues or
blues-rock. Hardcore blues like "It's My Own Fault" and
popular blues-rock chestnuts like "Red House" from Jimi
Hendrix are fair game for Thackery & His Drivers, which
included Michael Patrick on bass and Mark Stutso on drums
and vocals.
Born in Pittsburgh, Thackery was raised in Washington,
D.C. In high school, he played in a band with Bonnie
Raitt's brother, David, who exposed him to the music of
Buddy Guy; Thackery saw both Guy and Jimi Hendrix perform
in Washington, D.C. Thackery joined the Nighthawks in
1974, after being introduced to harmonica man Mark Wenner
by fellow guitarist Bobby Radcliff, who was then based in
D.C. Thackery recorded more than 20 albums with the
Nighthawks and toured the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan.
He left the band in 1987 and struck out on his own,
needing a break from the Nighthawks' 300-nights-a-year
tour schedule.
He formed a new band, Jimmy Thackery & the Assassins, and
toured the East Coast heavily with that band until they
split up in 1991. Thackery then formed a trio, Jimmy
Thackery & the Drivers, quickly forging a name for himself
on the blues festival and club circuit through a prolific
recording pace and a lot of roadwork. His albums for the
San Francisco-based Blind Pig label included Empty Arms
Motel (1992), Sideways in Paradise (Jimmy Thackery and
John Mooney, 1993), Trouble Man (1994), Wild Night Out!
(1995), Drive to Survive (1996), Switching Gears (1998),
and Sinner Street (2000). The latter added saxophone
player Jimmy Carpenter. In 2002, Thackery signed on with
the blues division of Telarc Records, releasing We Got It
in 2002 followed by True Stories in 2003, Live in 2004,
and Healin' Ground in 2005. Switching to Rykodisc, he
released In the Natural State in 2006, followed by Solid
Ice on Telarc Records in 2007. Inside Tracks appeared a
year later in 2008, also from Telarc Records.
His 1998 album includes guest performances by Joe Louis
Walker, Lonnie Brooks, Chubby Carrier, and Francine Reed,
but any of Thackery's albums will delight fans of tough,
heavy, driving guitar playing. For a taste of his thorough
mastery of several styles, Drive to Survive touches on
rockabilly, jazz, bebop, and surf music. Most of
Thackery's albums include at least a few covers mixed in
with his batch of self-penned songs.