Black Joe Lewis: Joe Lewis (vocals, guitar); Zach Ernst (guitar, lap steel guitar); David McKnight (tenor saxophone); Ian Varley (Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, organ, Wurlitzer organ); Bill Stevenson (bass guitar); Matthew Strmiska (drums).
Personnel: Joe "Cannonball" Lewis (vocals, guitar); Officer Tiny Tony (vocals); Josh Levy, Joshua Levy (baritone saxophone); Gilbert Elorreaga (trumpet); Leo Gauna, Leo Gauna (trombone); Grupo Fantasma "Jewmex" Horns (horns); Jim Eno (drums, drum, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Jim Eno.
Audio Remasterer: Jeff Lipton.
Recording information: Public Hi-Fi, Austin, TX.
Photographer: Cambria Lyn Harkey.
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears kicked around the indie circuit before landing on Universal's Lost Highway imprint with their self-titled 2009 EP. Shortly after that, they unleashed their first full-length for the label. While those who snapped up the EP may be disappointed to discover that half of its tracks are repeated here, they'll likely be elated to discover how much more there is where those cuts came from. TELL 'EM WHAT YOUR NAME IS! mixes funky, '60s-style R&B, stomping electric blues, and punky, garage-rock aggression in equal parts, creating something akin to a musical meeting of the minds between the North Mississipi Allstars and the Detroit Cobras.
This major-label debut from Austin-based retro soul man Black Joe Lewis is reminiscent of the '60s R&B albums he so clearly adores, right down to its 30-minute playing time. Only one song breaks the four-minute barrier, with the rest at three and some just over two. Fans of the J. Geils Band's initial handful of releases will recognize the same "nuthin' but a house party" influences at work here, with perhaps less blues and more high-octane soul shouting. Lewis' snappy guitar peppers these tunes, but it's the eight-piece horn-enhanced Honeybears that provide the grease for these musical wheels. That's especially true on the instrumental "Humpin'," a succulent slice of Stax-styled funk. This is hardcore, raw, unvarnished music that aims straight for the pelvis. Throw James Brown, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett into a deep fryer and you're close to Lewis' knockout vocal attack. Jim Eno's production stays hands-off, like it should be, letting this tightly knit ensemble do what it does naturally with no interference. This is so authentic that if slipped into a mix of likeminded '60s R&B, only a handful would peg it as a 2009 release as opposed to one from four decades earlier. The band is as adept at laying down the steamy, slow funk stew of "I'm Broke" as it is the peppy call-and-response singalong "Big Booty Woman." Based on that title and others such as "Master Sold My Baby" (an unusual deep Southern serving of R.L. Burnside/Junior Kimbrough blues), Lewis won't win any awards from women's rights organizations, but this music is so vibrant and uplifting that few will care. Fun, frisky, lascivious, and impossible to stay seated to, Black Joe Lewis has successfully tapped into a hip-shaking old-school groove that never seems forced and is completely contagious. ~ Hal Horowitz

Down Beat (p.64) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "TELL `EM WHAT YOUR NAME IS! fulfills its title as it serves as an entertaining introduction to Lewis' intriguing take on modern soul music."