Ken Tucker - Juke Joint Serenade (2010)

Ken Tucker has been playing blues-rock for nearly 30 years near his home in Indiana, but he reflects influences from all over the U.S. His guitar playing pays homage to Duane Allman and the dual-line sound of the Allman Brothers, his singing quite reminiscent at times of Bruce Springsteen with a little Tom Waits, Mark Knopfler, or even John Fogarty and Bob Dylan thrown in. These originals written by Tucker all tap on familiar themes of the blues with an attitude, done upbeat with a hefty helping of the frontman's slide guitar. Aside from the harmonica playing of Josh Hammond, there's little to deviate from the formula of this style of music, as "Brother Whiskey" (followed by the phrase "Sister Nicotine") and "One Stop Mind" are typical upbeat tunes with cleverly worded titles and lyrics. A true juke joint number, "Street Walking Woman" has Hammond on fire, while the closer "Worst I Ever Felt" has a country feel in an acoustic vein with the female vocal and Karen Harris' guitar. Tucker certainly has his following after all these years in the business, and his fans will welcome this overdue release, even if, technically, he's not serenading the bar crowd.