Not a prolific composer, Thackery's strength lies in strong arrangements that make other people's material his own. He covers Stevie Ray Vaghan's "Rude Mood," and one suspects there will be comparisons made in this direction. His solos burn the motel down on Luther Johnson's "Lickin' Gravy," and he manages a more than credible job on Hendrix's "Red House." Of the two self-penned numbers, the title track is a convincing boogie driven by an ultra-cool, echoed, chicken-scratch guitar riff, whil   [ read more ]

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Put your seat belt on before you "drive" this one. Thackery lets loose on both guitar and vocals here, with a solid, screaming set of originals and a handful of covers. Although it probably wasn't the intention, Drive to Survive quickly became synonymous with "Apache," the jungle drum-flavored surf instrumental that Thackery included simply because he "wanted to do a surf tune that no one had messed with." In reality, more than 20 artists had recorded the Ventures tune by the time {^Drive to    [ read more ]

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Electric blues fans flock to Jimmy Thackery to hear his fiery guitar, and tolerate his serviceable but far from thrilling gruff vocals. So, the compilers of this Blind Pig-era (six albums from 1992-2000) collection wisely stuck with all instrumental cuts. While that doesn't adequately summarize his career during this time, it sure makes for a dazzling disc displaying Thackery's sizzling six-string prowess. Although it is compiled predominately of previously released material (along with three un   [ read more ]

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A collection of acoustic delights recorded by Jimmy Thackery and John Mooney in 1985. Vintage blues and ragtime played by a pool in Jamaica. Guitars, mandocello, mandolins and guttural vocals are backed by native tree frogs (which sound a lot like crickets). ~ Roch Parisien, All Music Guide

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On his eighth album, Jimmy Thackery churns out rugged, no-nonsense, authoritative rock, with a passion and commitment that seeps through every track. Thackery's grinding guitar and growling voice pound out each song as if he's playing for thousands of people. He is produced once again by the experienced Jim Gaines who, through his work with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins, Tommy Castro, and Santana, knows his way around a {/blues-rock} record. The uncut Stonesy chug of {&"Never En   [ read more ]

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CD $16.13

Trouble Man is a hard-driving blues-rock album, with more emphasis on the "rock" than Thackery's other releases. It slows down just long enough for the slightly dark "Lovin' You Right" and the jazzy "Anchor to a Drowning Man," arguably the best cut here. "Doin' 100" and the instrumental "Hang Up and Drive" have a strong Stevie Ray Vaughan sound. Thackery applies a steady, yet light-hearted and uptempo pace to William Harris' "Bullfrog," which has also been covered by the likes    [ read more ]

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True Stories is veteran blues guitarist Jimmy Thackery's Telarc follow-up to We Got It. On this freewheeling disc, Thackery slightly peppers his modern electric blues with elements of rock, soul, and country. The presence of saxophonist Jimmy Carpenter adds a rockin' aspect to True Stories that the disc would have lacked without him. Highlights of the 11 tracks include Carpenter's sax vehicle "Crazy 'Bout a Saxophone," Thackery's original "Got It Going On," an   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

For his first album for Telarc, Jimmy Thackery -- backed by his band, the Drivers -- has come up with a near-tribute album to Eddie Hinton, covering eight of his songs on this 11-track set while offering three originals that illustrate the depth of his debt and love for the underappreciated singer/songwriter. Hinton was one of the leading white Southern soul singer/songwriters of the '70s, '80s, and '90s, and Thackery learned a lot from him -- especially how R&B, blues, and    [ read more ]

CD $11.38

Jimmy Thackery's eight CDs for the Blind Pig label rank with the finest work of his career. A passionate blues guitarist and an effective singer, Thackery brings creativity and a freshness to his renditions of blues, blues ballads, and near-blues. This sampler draws its 13 selections from the eight releases, putting the emphasis on the leader. Thackery is heard in guitar-bass-drums trios for eight of the selections and joined by various guests (including one appearance apiece by g   [ read more ]

CD $9.48

Ex-Nighthawks guitarist Jimmy Thackery has been playing his own brand of blues-tinged rock as a solo artist for some twenty years now (he left the Nighthawks in 1987) and there's no denying that he's a first-class guitarist with a sharp ear for tone and a knack for perfectly placed fills and evocative leads. His quavering, shaky voice is a problem, though, and while he conjures up the feel of an old veteran country singer on some of his slower numbers, his singing often lacks the punch, po   [ read more ]

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After ten albums with his backup band, the Drivers, Jimmy Thackery seems to have tired of reading reviews that extol his solos while dismissing his songs as mere platforms for his guitar dexterity and suggesting that his weak voice isn't really needed. With 2007's Solid Ice, the tenth of those albums, he began to try to up the quality of his songwriting and expand his musical range, and that process continues with the 11th Drivers album, Inside Tracks. "Blinking of an Eye," for example, is   [ read more ]

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