Music Review: Steve Hooker : Smokin' Guitar

The back cover blurb of Smokin Guitar by Steve Hooker (Pimphouse).

 warns prospective listeners:

“Rockin’ Music will get into your panties and may induce lewd behavior, nudity and swearing” And they’re not kidding! This short but sultry collection of rockabilly tunes is definitely designed for after-hours rendezvous and dance floor boogie.

 Hooker is a veteran of the rockabilly, blues and pub rock circuit. He began his career as a ’77 punker with the Heat. He then turned his talents to rockabilly and R & B with Shakers in ’82, establishing his raunchy, blues-infused guitar style. During the ensuing decades, he’s shared the stage with Wilko Johnson, Chuck Berry, Robert Gordon, Johnny Thunders and Steve Marriot, among others.

Still going strong in 2013, Hooker’s latest effort Smokin’ Guitar lives up to its name. Hooker and his Stripped Down Stompin’ Band blast through seven originals and a shakin redo of Inez and Charlie Foxx’s “Mockingbird.” The instrumental “Wolf Farm” opens the CD with  a thunderous crash and boogie reminiscent of Link Wray. This is bare-bones rockabilly at its best. The raspy vocals on “Gospel Ground” complement the track’s down ‘n’ dirty guitar; the rollicking “Devil I Know” tells the feisty tale of a woman out to have fun on the sly. “Mockingbird (Shine Eye Alternate)” has local blues belter Dee Shine Eye trading verses with Hooker on the 1960s soul classic.

Smokin Guitar ends with the straightforward riffs of another instrumental, "Wicked Blues".

You can buy a copy of Smokin Guitar through Stevehooker.co.uk