Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears first came on the national scene with 2009's Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!, an R&B and blues-infused party record that kept the asses shakin' and the babies makin'. Their new album, Scandalous, picks up right where that one left off, and it's hard to believe, but this one is even more of a barnstormer than the last. If Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears keep asses shakin' at a rate of such a tremendous fervor as this, there may be a widespread epidemic of assless Americans sometime in the near future.
Scandalous kicks off with the high energy (like Lewis and The Honeybears know any other style) "Livin' in the Jungle," which brings to mind all the great forefathers of gettin' down, such as Brown, Pickett and Redding. "I'm Gonna Leave You" brings to mind more contemporary modern day blues-style acts such as The Black Keys. From there, Lewis and the crew take us on a trip to "Booty City," which is reminiscent of all those great early ‘70s J. Geils Band records, long before any angel ever even thought of becoming a centerfold, and "Black Snake" recalls the tenacity of an obscure great such as Johnny "Guitar" Watson.

One of my favorites, though, "You Been Lyin'," feels like a lost Sam & Dave classic that could have come right off the Blues Brothers soundtrack. The last couple of tracks, "Since I Met You Baby" and "Jesus Took My Hand," pay tribute to later-era blues greats such as Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside just perfectly. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears may not be reinventing the wheel with an album like Scandalous, but they are making the wheel sexier and more attractive than it's been in a long while.