Lewis Stubbs Junior - West Nashville Sky

Bitrate:320K/s
Year:2026
Time:25:19 
Size:58,6 MB 
Label:Tulip Tree Records 
Styles:Blues/Rock/Americana 
Art:Front 

Tracks Listing:
 1. When I Hear - 2:58
 2. West Nashville Sky - 1:38
 3. Back Home to You - 3:10
 4. Blues Done Got Me in a Hole Right Now - 2:29
 5. Never Too Late to Get Down - 4:32
 6. Best I Can Tell - 2:57
 7. W.C. Blues - 3:16
 8. Heads Up - 4:16

Stubbs wrestles with themes that are hard-edged such as addiction, recovery, alienation & survival. Decades ago, when artists started their careers, they aspired to the style & fame of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly & later The Beatles & Rolling Stones. But today, it seems more glitz & fashion for the mainstream purveyors of pulp music. In the case of Lewis Stubbs Junior & others like him, it’s more about self-expression & through it, their trials & tribulations. Write, sing & play your own music from a deeper well, your well. Lewis draws from the well of the past & puts his own spin on it, or should I say his own hubcaps. The 8 songs on West Nashville Sky (Drops April 3/Independent/25:19) are succinct & come from a personal place, as a lived-in portrait & to be blunt “getting your shit together,” as Lewis said in so many words. While Lewis doesn’t have the deep baritone of Robert Gordon, his appeal is borderline rockabilly — not overheated, but vivid. It’s like a Florentine steak – a minute or two on each side, then dig in. “When I Hear” has old-fashioned spice in its rock with a pinch of Duane Eddy/Lonnie Mack finesse on guitar. Quite cool. The instrumental “West Nashville Sky” features CJ Colandrea’s pedal steel guitar & it’s sweet. “Back Home To You” has a marvelously picked guitar & Lewis’ vocal is sharp as a saber. The pedal steel cruises while Lewis’ vocals capture the essence of another era, but never retro. He owns this reinforced application of R&R both in ballad form & when it percolates. Lewis unleashes his Jerry Lee Lewis persona on “Blues Done Got Me In a Hole Right Now,” which features Chad Abel (keyboards) among the gutsy lead guitar & shuffling drums. Good work on this arrangement, weighty without being weighed down. Filled with cruising speed & the song goes full-tilt with genuine dance floor appeal as the sparks fly off toes & heels.
“Never Too Late To Get Down” has late-career J. Geils Band soul/R&B punch to it. Honking saxes & snappy snare beats. Old-fashioned R&R but with reliable strength. With “Heads Up,” it’s not quite as energetic & white-knuckle tight as Ragnar Zavaran (“It’s All Different Now”), but Lewis has lots of moxie, muscle & coherence here. Strap yourself in, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
Musicians – Brad Clark (bass), Chris Long (drums), Randy Boen (keys), Chris West (horns) & Lucy Stubbs (bgv).

West Nashville Sky