The Real Deal (Smokey Wilson album)

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The Real Deal
Studio album by
Smokey Wilson
Released1995
StudioSunnyside Studio
GenreBlues
LabelBullesye Blues[1]
ProducerRon Levy
Smokey Wilson chronology
Smoke n' Fire
(1993) 		The Real Deal
(1995) 		The Man from Mars
(1997)

The Real Deal is an album by the American musician Smokey Wilson, released in 1995.[2][3] Wilson supported the album with a North American tour.[4]

The album was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award for best traditional blues album.[5]

Production[edit]

The album was produced by Ron Levy.[6] It includes covers of Eddie Taylor's "Bad Boy" and Muddy Waters's "Feel Like Going Home".[4] Wilson wrote the remaining nine songs; he was primarily influenced by the styles of Mississippi blues musicians.[7][8] Preston Shannon played rhythm guitar on The Real Deal.[9]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
DownBeat[11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide[13]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[6]

The Chicago Tribune wrote that "Wilson brings a gruff, slashing Mississippi-bred attack to his uncompromising brand of contemporary blues."[14] The Age stated: "Fronting a sturdy, rhythm section, Wilson brandishes a guitar that eases from West Coast panache to stinging, Mississippi Delta grit."[15]

The Anchorage Daily News determined that, "at their best, his songs achieve a slow, coruscating effect enlivened by bright, sparsely picked notes on his guitar."[7] The Boston Herald opined that the album's acoustic tracks "positively reek of the Mississippi juke joints in which the Los Angeles-based Wilson learned his trade from the masters."[9]

AllMusic deemed the album "electric juke-joint nirvana."[10] MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide praised the "joyous, defiant" "Not Pickin' Your Cotton".[13]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Son of a ... Blues Player" 
2."House in Hollywood" 
3."Bad Boy" 
4."Sittin' in Jackson" 
5."Feel Like Going Home" 
6."Rat Takin' Your Cheese" 
7."In My Life" 
8."Not Pickin' Your Cotton" 
9."I Wanna Do It to You Baby" 
10."When You Got Somebody" 
11."Can't Make It Without You" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Antone's". Austin American-Statesman. 14 Mar 1996. p. 34.
  2. ^ "Smokey Wilson Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Obrecht, Jas (Oct 1995). "The Real Deal by Smokey Wilson". Guitar Player. Vol. 29, no. 10. p. 118.
  4. ^ a b Fowler, James E. (21 Dec 1995). "Blues Man Brings Roots of the South Out West". Los Angeles Times. p. F19.
  5. ^ Kinsman, Michael (November 28, 1996). "Lord knows, Smokey Wilson is full-up on the Mississippi blues". Entertainment. The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 7.
  6. ^ a b The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books Ltd. 2006. pp. 720–721.
  7. ^ a b Meyerowitz, Robert (May 31, 1996). "Wilson Brings the Real Deal to Alaska Blues Fans". Anchorage Daily News. p. H24.
  8. ^ Dunn, Michael (July 28, 1996). "The Real Deal". Florida. The Tampa Tribune. p. 4.
  9. ^ a b Convey, Kevin R. (July 21, 1996). "Smokey Wilson The Real Deal". Arts & Lifestyle. Boston Herald. p. 44.
  10. ^ a b "Smokey Wilson - The Real Deal Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic.
  11. ^ Santelli, Robert (Nov 1995). "Blues all over — The Real Deal by Smokey Wilson". DownBeat. Vol. 62, no. 11. p. 71.
  12. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 718.
  13. ^ a b MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 408.
  14. ^ Dahl, Bill (14 June 1996). "Smokey Wilson". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. O.
  15. ^ Reilly, Terry (August 25, 1995). "Red, Hot & Blue". Entertainment Guide. The Age. p. 8.
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