Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat

TEXAS  has been the birthplace of many blues and rock legends.  From T-Bone Walker to Freddy King to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Delbert McClinton to The Fabulous Thunderbirds to ZZ Top and in between, a lot of great music has come from The Lone Star State.  Recently another Texas group has been making a lot of noise:  Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat.

Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat obviously do not intend to become categorized!  Sure their albums are full of powerful blues-based, old-fashioned, gut-wrenching rock and roll, but there’s a lot more to it than that...influences from many genres melt together into a powerful combination, which they twist cleverly into their own style!   Jim, in fact, is now touring as the new lead guitarist in none other than the George Thorogood and The Destroyers band!

Jim and Monkey Beat have toured extensively across the United States, and have made several trips across Europe, brandishing their blues-rock roots in front of audiences from Britain to the Eastern Bloc.

RADIO MOJO showcases the band’s beginnings, evocatively presenting a raw, roots–influenced, bash-ahead viewpoint on rock and blues.

SHAKE  is an amazingly powerful collection of dark, Delta-blues influenced songs, played with a definite fervor.  Suhler’s guitar wizardry stunningly leaps off the disc, harkening to the days of Jimmy Page, Angus Young and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Produced by Terry Manning of ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin and Destroyers fame, and recorded at Compass Point in Nassau, home studio of powerful music from AC/DC to Bob Marley to The Rolling Stones,

The guys make slashing forays into several genres on their third album, BADJUJU.  Cajun music, Mexican music, Country music, Acoustic blues, almost nothing is safe from their onslaught.  Borrowing at times from their heroes ZZ, Stevie Ray, AC/DC, and Thorogood, this collection nonetheless showcases the incredible original writing and virtuoso playing of band leader Jim Suhler.

What could be even better than those three releases?  How about a fourth one, which encompasses the very best tracks from the first three, plus six brand new cuts every bit their equal?  STARVATION BOX, THE BEST OF JIM SUHLER AND MONKEY BEAT is just such a CD.  Everything great the band has done is exemplified here, as well as their newest creations of powerhouse blues rock.