Tommy Lee Cook - Tommy Lee's Jonesin' (2023) [CD Rip]

South Florida has quite the raging blues scene, and Tommy Lee Cook is just the latest example of that . Tommy Lee’s Jonesin’ is an intoxicating blend of blues grease and southern rock charm. With his gravelly voice and southern drawl he inhabits the characters of his songs and really brings them alive… not too many guys can say they have that in their toolbox.

Tommy Lee Jones is a complex guy, as interesting people tend to be. Like it says on the website, he’s “a musician and author, studies history and raises mules. He’s a down-home boy who goes head-to-head with the word nerds in New York City, a mule-loving man who pens novels and songs, a soul food lover.” Sounds like a fascinating cat to me, and that really comes across in his songs. It’s similar to when you listen to a Robbie Robertson album like Storyville… you find yourself helplessly drawn into the narratives, and Jones’s facility with the written word conjures lyrics that practically demand you to dig deeper and get to the bottom of the story. You can see what he’s singing about in your mind’s eye as each song plays… it’s the rough equivalent of getting so deep into a good book that everything around you disappears.

Tommy Lee Jones and his band aren’t in any particular hurry here; the songs unfold at their own pace on Tommy Lee’s Jonesin’, particularly cuts like Souleater and Satisfied. The effect is nigh on hypnotic, with sparse guitar work, rumbling bass and some atmospheric keyboard work that underscores the mood. I could listen to these particular tracks all day- hell, I’ve played them half a dozen times already today because they feel so… damn… good.

Tommy Lee’s Jonesin’ is loose and dangerous, a blues fueled fever dream that you won’t want to wake up from. As you listen it’s like watching a dozen films play in your head, one after the other. This is one record that really captures the imagination and takes you places. ~John Kereiff