Review: Chickenbone Slim ‘Damn Good And Ready’
By Brandon Miller
San Diego’s Larry Teves releases Damn Good and Ready on August 4th with VizzTone Label Group. The artist, better known as Chickenbone Slim, presents twelve new original songs described as a mix of blues, West Coast swing, rockabilly, and roots rock. His fifth career album and second for the label, the latest release entertains with an aggressive sound and skilled songwriting, further elevated by a talented supporting band.
Chickenbone Slim and his backing members, the Biscuits, are high-level musicians. The group includes 2023 BMA Instrumentalist (guitar) Winner Laura Chavez on lead guitar, Fabulous Thunderbirds member Marty Dodson on drums, and 20-year-old prodigy Justice Guevera on electric and standup bass. In 2021, Chickenbone Slim and The Biscuits were nominated at the San Diego Music Awards for Best Blues Album with their 2020 album Sleeper. Last year’s release, Serve It To Me Hot, was also well-received and reached number four on the Living Blues Album Charts, number 2 on the Roots Music Contemporary Blues Charts, and number 14 on the Alternative Country Specialty Charts.
Like their previous release, Damn Good and Ready was recorded and produced by Kid Andersen at Greaseland Studios in the typically sunny San Jose, California. During the week of recording, the city experienced an unusual “bomb cyclone rainfall.” The inclement weather may have been a bad omen, but upon listening to the album, it sounds like very few things could hinder their aggressive, 21st-century roots music sound.
The album opens with “High Ballin’ Train,” asserting that Chickenbone Slim and The Biscuits will not be stopped. A guitar cuts through with a Delta blues-like riff as the drums punch through. Chickenbone Slim is a force to be reckoned with as he sneers, “My momma used to call me a bull in a china shop. Once I start rolling, man, I can’t stop.” His scornful vocal delivery persists throughout the album. The band fuels his tenacious charisma.
Songs like “Drink Me” and “I’m Buying” feel confrontational. “Ice in My Whiskey” warns the bartender not to water down his drink. “Ty Cobb’s Chiclets,” on the other hand, stands out as the songwriter’s most creative topic. He questions one bidder’s infatuation with the late baseball star’s teeth. “He was hated and feared, and he never cracked a smile,” Chickenbone Slim bellows. “Buy an old man’s teeth? Man, you’re outta your tree.”
Elsewhere, the songwriter excels with snappy and clever lyrics on “I Don’t Want to Talk About It,” which he argues, “don’t want to watch a 12-part Hollywood Netflix TV version of it.” The song “Deepest Blue” tells of a longing lover whose “ darkest night will turn the deepest blue,” the color of her dress. Chickenbone Slim paints a picture on “Rock n’ Roll Soul,” the album’s single, describing a woman who’s “got a wall street mind and a punk rock vibe. The blues in her heart and the will to survive.”
Another track that stands out on the album is “Let’s Go Lindy.” The song explicitly shows the band’s ability to slip into different genres, such as Swing. The guitar melody could have been a blues riff by Count Basie or Glen Miller. The call-and-response vocals and tasteful vocal harmonies give more to the song.
Damn Good and Ready has an inherently vintage sound, and their decision to work with producer Kid Andersen and Greaseland Studio pays off. There is consistency in the group’s overall sound. Growth occurs with familiarity, allowing for a refined artistic vision. Chickenbone Slim’s songwriting benefits from a hot rhythm section and a sensational lead guitarist. Laura Chavez has lent her fingers to artists such as Candye Kane, Nikki Hill, and Vanessa Collier. This year, Chavez became the first woman to win best instrumentalist in the guitar category at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis.
Damn Good and Ready won’t strike you as a tame, traditional blues rock album. The band has a hard edge. Wise songcraft and a blunt delivery give Chickenbone and the Biscuits a bulldozing sound. They empower you with a grit-your-teeth and clench-your-fist poise. You feel just as unstoppable. If you are seeking a stern slap in the face, Damn Good and Ready is recommended.
“Rock and Roll Soul” feat. Laura Chavez See HERE
Chickenbone Slim website
Nice!