To the as yet uninitiated, Chuck E. Weiss can best be described to those who insist on classification as a cross between Tom Waits and Dr. John in a seedy bar. The "ubadubadoo" of "Congo Square at Midnight" sums up the album bravado best. Sultry, bluesy and full of sly winks, it's masterful in its simplicity. The man's got rhythm and it's heard on every second of this album.
"It don't happen overnight" could hardly be a truer sentiment from Weiss, whose been playing clubs for decades. The ukelele and organ goofiness of "Piggly Wiggly" morphs into love of automobile on the fun "Two Tone Car". Though Weiss laments that there ain't "No Hep Cats" anymore, it's because there's hardly anyone as cool as him left. Only he can do "Tony did the Boogie Woogie" and "Sweetie-O" and not lose any street cred.
"Anthem for Old Souls" and "Dixieland Funeral" celebrate the melancholy of death. Weiss can make the tears well up just as much as Waits when he wants to. Like the title implies, you're in for fun on "Sneaky Jesus". As for the sax on "Blood Alley", it smolders alongside his lyrics about a dark underworld. Weiss also threw in "Down the Road a Piece" with Willie Dixon, a boogie woogie recording from 1970 that features a great whistling duo.
What surely must be a tease, there is also a video track of Weiss performing "Cub Scout Suit" live at Johnny Depp's Viper Room in LA. Ready to go to a show and see what real musicians can do with a piano, guitars, sax and drums?
Chuck E. Weiss Old Souls & Wolf Tickets
