Jimmy Thackery & Tab Benoit - Whiskey Store (2002)

1. I Ain't Broke 2. Whiskey Store 3. Away, Away Too Long 4. Strange Things Happen 5. Nice and Warm 6. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat 7. Unknown Legend 8. Bad Luck Blues 9. Freddy's Combo 10. The Last Time 11. Bone Pickin' Personnel: Tab Benoit - vocals and guitar Jimmy Thackery - vocals and guitar Charlie Musslewhite - harmonica Reese Wynans - piano and B-3 Tommy Shannon - bass Chris Layton - drums Amazon.com It's hard to articulate what elevates Whiskey Store above your standard, run-of-the-mill, guitar-driven blues album. Certainly the talent of the main players involved has something to do with it, not to mention guests including Charlie Musselwhite and Double Trouble. It's not surprising, then, that Whiskey Store is a topnotch, rollicking good time. It kicks right in with the energetic, riff-heavy opener "I Ain't Broke," and moves on to the title track, a slow blues drenched in trailing guitar lines. Other highlights include "Strange Things Happen," which has some great harmonica from Musselwhite; the ballad "Unknown Legend"; and the bouncy, uptempo instrumental "Freddy's Combo." Overall, Whiskey Store offers a slew of excellent choices. --Genevieve Williams