{"id":25272,"date":"2023-05-17T05:30:08","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T09:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=25272"},"modified":"2023-05-15T14:15:55","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T18:15:55","slug":"album-review-the-cash-box-kings-oscars-motel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/17\/album-review-the-cash-box-kings-oscars-motel\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: The Cash Box Kings \u2013 Oscar\u2019s Motel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Co-leaders Joe Nosek (on blues harp and vocals) and Oscar \u201cMr. 43rd<\/sup> Street\u201d Wilson (vocals) know their way around the high energy Chicago variant of the blues. Save for the sonic clarity that comes from working in a 21st<\/sup> century recording studio, Oscar\u2019s Motel<\/i>\u2018s opening track could often be mistaken for a genuine 1940s article. The title tune is a gritty slice of Howlin\u2019 Wolf-inspired bluesiness.<\/p>\n

But the variety contained in the Cash Box Kings<\/a>\u2019 musical bag means that the group quickly takes the music elsewhere. A tight horn section figures prominently in Down on the South Side, with a rock-solid rhythm section underpinning. Then it\u2019s back to vintage textures for a stripped-down, drummerless treatment of Muddy Waters\u2019 Please Have Mercy. Nosek\u2019s wonderfully distorted harp wails throughout.<\/p>\n

With its phone-call intro, the shuffling band original \u201cI Can\u2019t Stand You\u201d is a blues cousin to the Big Bopper\u2019s \u201cChantilly Lace.\u201d But lyrical references to Facebook plant the song firmly in the here-and-now. Delta Farr\u2019s guest vocal works nicely alongside Nosek and Wilson.<\/p>\n

Postwar jump blues\/r&b textures come to the fore on \u201cHot Little Mess,\u201d a tune that swings hard. That track \u2013 like all 11 on the record \u2013 showcases the fun that the band is having while making this music. Initially more serious in nature is the gospel-meets-field holler flavor of \u201cNobody Called it the Blues.\u201d The song\u2019s \u201clive in the studio\u201d vibe is one of the keys to its effectiveness. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sonny Boy Williamson II\u2019s \u201cPontiac Blues\u201d gets a dance-blues reading from the band; listen and you can almost feel the juke joint sawdust beneath your feet. And since that tune will likely leave dancers out of breath, \u201cTrying So Hard\u201d follows on its heels. \u201cTrying So Hard\u201d slows the tempo to a grinding crawl. The tension is palpable, giving the song the character its lyrics demand. The dialogue between Nosek\u2019s overdriven harp and guest guitarist Shoji Naito\u2019s stinging slide guitar is a delight.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe Dropped the Axe on Me\u201d demonstrates songwriter Nosek\u2019s skill at crafting a fresh tune out of familiar elements. And the song provides one of many opportunities on Oscar\u2019s Motel to enjoy the expressive and playful piano work of Lee Kanehira. \u201cI Want What Chaz Has\u201d is another fun number that hints at what the band would be like live onstage. The gang backing vocals conjure memories of Louis Prima or Louis Jordan. And despite its holiday theme, the rocking album closer \u201cRide Santa Ride\u201d is a fun tine most any time of year. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Joe Noske\u2019s varied and always note-perfect production values showcase the strengths of the band and shine a light on the Cash Box Kings\u2019 variety. On their tenth album the band show no sign of losing any of the qualities that make them special. Checking into Oscar\u2019s Motel<\/i> guarantees an enjoyable stay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Co-leaders Joe Nosek (on blues harp and vocals) and Oscar \u201cMr. 43rd Street\u201d Wilson (vocals) know their way around the high energy Chicago variant of the blues. Save for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,49,65],"tags":[3285],"class_list":["post-25272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-new-release","category-review","tag-cash-box-kings","cat-9-id","cat-49-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25274,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25272\/revisions\/25274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}