On his second album for Austin’s Dialtone Records (following 2003’s Houston Guitar Blues), the blues flows so effortlessly out of Little Joe Washington’s guitar it’s hard to believe any of these 14 songs needed more than one take. Washington’s feverish runs and penetrating leads — which fly by at a clip somebody half the 70-year-old local institution’s age would have a hard time matching — dominate Texas Fire Line, of course, but he doesn’t hog the spotlight, either. Song after song, both keyboardist Nick Connelly and the horn section of Al Gomez Jr. on trumpet and sax man Kaz Kazanoff pile on layers of vintage Memphis R&B and soul as deep as Big Muddy itself.
Still, Texas Fire Line is Little Joe’s show all the way. Both his guitar and vocals are disquietingly expressive throughout — the pain of “Lonely Lonely Nights” is absolutely gut-wrenching, and please avoid sharp objects of any kind while listening to “Cry All Night Long.” But Washington can also be playful, like on “I Love Country Girls”; a softie, like on Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me”; or angry and confused, like on the simmering musical tropical storm “Ike,” where he harangues the titular hurricane for almost literally blowing him to Austin. Each cut on Texas Fire Line is a reminder of Little Joe’s singular talent and natural charisma — and, unfortunately, that when he’s gone, virtually an entire genre will vanish with him.
This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2009.
