image courtesy of Frank Roszak Promotions

Album Review of Willie J Laws Jr.: Too Much Blues (Pilot Light Records)

I’m fortunate to live in a region where one of the country’s top bluesmen, Willie J Laws Jr., performs regularly; he is almost certainly New England’s favorite transplanted Texan. And yet I haven’t taken much advantage of my proximity. In fact, I haven’t seen Willie perform since he played some guitar at a Cheryl Arena concert I attended several years ago. And I still haven’t seen him perform with his own band. However, thanks to this release, Too Much Blues, I’ve been listening to a lot of Willie’s music lately.

I’ve seen Willie referred to as “the last prophet of the funky Texas blues,” and I wouldn’t argue with that assessment. This disc showcases the breadth and depth of Willie’s talent. His vocals can range from mourning to defiant to joyful, from smooth to gritty. His guitar can weep, can soar, and can jam with the best of them. Willie J Laws Jr. is the consummate blues performer, and Too Much Blues does justice to his diverse talents. Plus, it’s simply a great listen, so grab (or stream) a copy and immerse yourself.

photo courtesy of Frank Roszak Promotions

Too Much Blues opens with “Regl’Ol’ Blues.” Stylistically, the song is a slow-moving, rhythmic blues dirge, with both Willie’s voice and his guitar emitting woeful, blue pain. This song also sneaks in one of my favorite lyrics on the disc – “I think you need to Google you some Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland” – possibly because it’s the first time I’ve heard “Google” mentioned in a blues lyric.

Willie showcases some cool vibes and varied approaches on different songs. “Better Off Blue” features adds a groovy ’70s vibe. Later in the collection, “Love Before You Die” and Willie’s cover of the Willie Dixon-penned “I Want to Be Loved” position Willie as a blues beat poet, with sparse instrumentation and interesting spoken-sung cadences.

“Stuck in Traffic” is a relatable favorite, at least for those of us who drive cars, and it includes a few lyrical gems like “I’m goin’ slow, nowhere fast. Yo nephew, get up off my ass.” Despite the 5-plus minute long string of traffic jam complaints, this song has a smooth enough vibe, bouncing along pleasantly, with some jazz key noodling providing an almost Schroeder-esque feel (yes, that’s a Peanuts/Vince Guaraldi reference), that it might actually calm me down if I listened to this song while stuck in traffic. Not that I want to find out.

Willie gets timely and political convincingly on a trio of tracks. First “Getcha’ Knee Off My Neck,” deploying some attention-grabbing horns to amplify the attention-worthy main point, and then later in the disc during “Ain’t Going Back to Texas,” a song with an almost country-blues dancehall flavor (or maybe an old midday in a blues joint feeling) that opens with an introduction noting that “Willie J Laws [is a] sixth-generation Texan with a message.” Yes, Willie is a proud son of Texas and purveyor of the funky Texas blues, noting “I’d love to come back home, but sometimes I don’t think I belong down in Texas,” but man, what a good song documenting damn solid reasons for discontent. And Willie, we’ve got your back in New England, and we’re glad you’re here. Finally, not letting America in general off the hook, Willie tackles America’s “original sin” (my words, not his) groovily on “The Right.” Protest songs are a fine American tradition, and Willie’s are quite strong.

Backing things up a bit, “Sorry Charlie” is a twangy country-blues number with a knee-bouncing/toe-tapping energy and a tempo powered by a jamming harmonica line.

The title track, “Too Much Blues,” is a convincing, close-your-eyes-and-bounce-along, blues groove, with organ for emphasis, mixed with meandering guitar and plucking-filled solos, and starring vocals that build to the occasional anguished blues wail. It’s followed by “You Don’t Love Me,” a funky blues number that makes the point “You don’t love me, baby; You just love what I do,” and then it elaborates upon that point. The result is a cool number that includes a few opportunities for guitar solos during which the guitar itself seems to be speaking, corroborating the points made in the vocals.

Willie closes the album with his cover of The Isley Brothers’ “Who’s That Lady.” The guitar groove and backup vocals here both harken back to the sixties or seventies, exploring the intersection between smoky blues joints and shag carpeting, bringing to mind being a young child, sitting in bean bag chairs in a room with the ’70s color palette of orange, yellow and brown, watching Soul Train. Or maybe that’s just me. But it’s cool – I mean, it’s groovy – to end the disc with a well-performed nod to nostalgia.

If I haven’t, by now, successfully painted a picture of one of the best blues albums of 2023, well, then that’s a failure on my part. Willie J Laws, Jr.’s Too Much Blues is an essential addition to any blues collection. Give it a listen.

More Recently

Willie was nominated for a New England Music Award in the Blues Act of the Year category. Voting has concluded, and NEMA winners will announced during a ceremony at the Six String Bar & Grille in Foxborough, MA on November 12th.

Looking Ahead

According to the “Tour” page of Willie’s website, you’ll have several chance to catch a live performance around New England before the end of the year. Willie’s next scheduled performances are November 9th in Wakefield, RI; November 16th in Sharon, MA; November 18th in Springfield, MA; November 20th in Rockland, ME; November 24th in Lowell, MA; December 1st in Putnam, CT; and December 29th in Cambridge, MA. Check Willie’s website for additional details about those performances and for news of additional shows, as they’re added. Willie’s Facebook page also mentions a Sunday, November 12th brunch performance in Boston; obviously, see the appropriate website for details about that, too.