McKinley James - Working Class Blues (2024)

New full length studio album from blues and R&B guitarist/songwriter McKinley James. Recorded at Red Lodge Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

Having a musician as a parent can be a good thing. Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter McKinley James has played and recorded with his father Jason Smay, for a half dozen years. Since Dad is a big-time drummer who has played with Los Straitjackets and JD McPherson, among others, it would be a natural thing to include Dad and form a band. They did but dropped the trio just to he and Dad and this duo went into the studio to play the songs they’d done on the road together.

He spent his late teens in Nashville after moving there with his Dad and family from upstate New York. Steeped in the blues, his sound is not traditional. He mixes R&B, soul and rock into a modernized melange of sound that is kind of like the Louisiana hill country meets Texas rock. His music is all original, has a driving beat, and gets your attention. The songs deliver their musical message and move on; this is not a jam band sort of sound. It’s in your face, listen to this and it’s done. 3 to 4 minutes per track, plus of minus, James gets his point across and makes the listener, well, listen.

James does all the guitar and vocals while Dad handles the drums. This power duo delivers a full and deep sound as they navigate from song to song. Whether it’s a simple shuffle like “Call Me Lonesome” or Texas-styled blues rockers like the opening track “Movin’” and “Get To Me Baby,” or a jumping bogey like “Crazy Over You,” McKinley James offers a captivating sound that is making him noticed in the blues rock world.

He can get a funky groove going to delight the listener like he does in “Say Goodbye” or offer up slow ballads like “Till It’s Gone,” “Say Goodbye” or “Just A Little Bit” that will equally grab at you. Tunes like “Always On My Mind,” “Leadin’ Me On” and “Wait And See” are throwbacks to early rock but delivered with a fresh and updated charm and sound.

His voice is a little haunting, a little old school, a little soulful and just something that makes you pay attention. He lays out some good riffs as Dad powers the cuts with his strong percussive presence. This is a great inaugural album for an up-and-coming artist that will help get him notice. I look forward to seeing him when he passed through the Midwest this fall. Until then, this album will suffice- it’s well worth many a listen!