Sunday, October 18, 2009
A+E, Music, Reviews

TINSLEY ELLIS

“SPEAK NO EVIL”  (ALLIGATOR)

Flournoy Holmes

TINSLEY ELLIS
w/The Soul Shakers
Friday, Oct. 23
8:30 p.m.
$17.50-$20
 
Variety Playhouse
404-524-7354
www.variety-playhouse.com

While famous-for-15-minute hometown rappers and metal behemoths receive considerable attention from the Atlanta media, veteran blues-rocker Tinsley Ellis seldom gets the respect he deserves. An Atlanta resident for the majority of his life, he’s taken his raucous, somewhat derivative but undeniably enjoyable sound around the world on an endless tour for the past quarter-century. A new release should at least register some Atlanta love, but seldom does.

    While “Speak No Evil” is unlikely to change that, it’s another rugged slice of the guitar-heavy, estrogen-free roots-rock Ellis has been effectively slinging out since he was playing bars with Chicago Bob Nelson and the Heartfixers in the early ’80s. His twelfth album finds him back with the formidable Alligator label, home to the majority of his catalog.
 
     Any of these songs could have been included on earlier discs, but they’re no less enjoyable for that. Self-produced and featuring longtime sidekick bassist The Evil One, this album sticks to familiar territory, with Ellis laying down raw, meaty leads over a dozen originals, the equal of anything he’s already written. Songs such as the mid-tempo “Amanda,” “The Night Is Easy” and the title track find him channeling the spirits of Cream, Jeff Beck and Mountain, just some of the influences that have often populated his music.

   While some of his contemporaries look to stretch the boundaries of their genre, Tinsley Ellis is content to work within its confines, releasing quality material for established fans, and blowing away newcomers with his sweat-soaked performances. 3 STARS—Hal Horowitz