What Are You Listening To Right Now? -New thread, new rules. Please read them. - Page 2586

Joe's the godfather of the down-and-dirty R&B sax of the '50s and '60s. He led the great Bill Black Combo (Elvis' backup band), toured with Marvin Gaye, and mentored countless Maryland musicians including Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan. Stanley's CD is chock full of organ grooves, soul ballads, deep sax-driven blues. The icing is Joe's bourbon-fortified Sinatra-style vocals on old honky-tonk gems like "Jambalaya" and "Please Release Me". It doesn't hurt that he's got an all-star band: two wailing electric guitars, soul-steeped Hammond organ, and hard-driving bari sax. All that's locked down tight by John Previti's razor-sharp bassline and Big Joe Maher's ultra-punchy cymbals, snare and kickdrum. (#03852)

Joe Stanley, sax/vocals 
Billy Hancock, vocals 
Dave Chappell, guitar 
Rudy Turner, guitar 
Kevin McKendree, B-3 organ 
John Previti, bass 
Jay Miles, bass* 
Joe Maher, drums

TRACK LISTING:

REVIEWS:

The Washington Post:
reviewed by Mike Joyce

Stanley's Sax Stirs Up Memories
In his liner notes to saxophonist Joe Stanley's King of the Honky-Tonk Sax, producer Pierre Sprey paints a less than pretty picture of the Maryland venues that helped shape Stanley's music in the '60s. "Sawdust was the preferred flooring," Sprey notes. "It made it much easier to sweep out the booze and blood every night."

However, if Stanley saw the worst of the club scene back then, he also saw the best, playing alongside Roy Clark, Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton, and it finds Stanley playing tenor sax with a burry tone and a big heart. His schooling of hard knocks led him to develop a broad repertoire, which no doubt came in handy when taking requests from irritable patrons, so it's no surprise that he covers R&B, country and pop with ease and authority here. Echoes of Bill Doggett (Rainbow Ride), Fats Domino (I'm So Blue), Louis Prima (Pennies From Heaven) and even Frank Sinatra (The Lady Is A Tramp) resonate throughout the recording, but there's no pretense or lack of personal touches. That's because, in addition to Stanley's evocative horn and vocals, the music is bolstered by a fine cast that includes drummer Big Joe Maher, bassists John Previti and Jay Miles, guitarists Dave Chappell and Rudy Turner, baritone saxophonist Chris Watling and keyboardist Kevin McKendree. Another big plus are Billy Hancock's colorful and sometimes emotional vocal cameos, which help make the music sound all the more rooted and real.

November 29, 1996