Despite often being referred to as “young guns” in their genre, The Cash Box Kings have been playing together for over a decade. The seven-piece ensemble is known for its dedication to reviving the sound of the 1920s and ’30s Delta Blues and the post-war Blues that came from Chicago, where CBK resides.
Despite the long career, there has been some changes in recent years. Of the original lineup, only Joe Nosek, Oscar Wilson and Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith still remain. The trio now shares the stage with a rotating cast of characters, including Chris Boeger (bass), Billy Flynn (guitar, harmonica, mandolin, vocals), Mark Hains (drums), Joel Paterson (guitar, vocals), Beau Sample (upright bass, vocals) and Jimmy Sutton (upright bass, vocals). The new faces in the lineup don’t seem to have tamed the group’s obvious love for their hometown, though, nor has it affected the quality of music.
Album opener and namesake for the band’s latest release, “Holler
and
Stomp,” perfectly sums up the new album by the funky Blues band — a collision of Blues and Country music. It is one part honky-tonk guitar, two parts bluesy vocals and oh-so much harmonica.
Among the original numbers, the Kings also slip in some seemingly unlikely covers from the likes of Hank Williams and The Rolling Stones. Oscar Wilson’s groveling baritone takes the Mick Jagger vocals you know and love on “Off the Hook” to a completely different level. Holler and Stomp suggests the hometown love will keep coming Cash Box Kings’ way for another 10 years, and the love from outside Chicago’s city limits seems bound to grow as well. Grade: B
