JIMMY THACKERY

EXTRA JIMMIES

2014-10-26

After a 15 year gig with the Northern Virginia based Nighthawks and a brief detour into horn-driven R & B with the Assassins, guitarist Jimmy Thackery formed the hard-hitting Drivers. This disc features 13 cuts drawn from three out of print discs from his early years on the Blind Pig label, Empty Arms Motel, Wild Night Out and Switching Gears. While there are a couple of covers here including a great live take on B.B. King's "You Upset Me Baby", George Butler's "Lickin' Gravy" and the Lowell Fulsom classic, "Honey Hush", most of the material is original and features Thackery's hot-wired guitar work leading his three piece crew through the paces. The first solo release, 1992s, Empty Arms Motel, set the stage for the terrific solo career he has crafted since then. With an immediacy that makes even the studio work sound live and raw Thackery's guitar work is spellbinding with its use of tone, dynamics and his ever inventive phrasing. He's also a fine vocalist with a gruff, take-no-prisoners approach that is as confident as his guitar work. If you missed these releases the first time around this is a good chance to catch a rocket on the way up! Smitty