Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers – Everybody’s Talkin’ ‘Bout Miss Thing!

2000 Fat Note Records
SQ Issue:  Summer 2000 - Volume 10, Issue 3

The Red Hot Skillet Lickers are:

Lavay Smith – vocals; Allen Smith – trumpet; Bill Ortiz – trumpet; Bill Stewart – alto saxophone; Jules Broussard – tenor and alto saxophone; Herman Riley – tenor sax; Ron Stallings – tenor and baritone saxophone; Harvey Robb – tenor sax; Danny Armstrong – trombone; Marty Wehner – trombone; Charlie Siebert – guitar; Bing Nathan – string bass; Sly Randolph – drums; Mark Lee – drums; Chris Siebert – piano, musical director; David Berger – arranger.

“Folks, no matter how bad your day has been, this CD is guaranteed to make you feel better.” – Dan Aykroyd (aka Elwood Blues), House of Blues Radio Hour.

Lavay Smith follows up her successful debut CD, One Hour Mama, with her sophomore release.  There is no sophomore jinx here.  This is one solid CD full of great swing tunes guaranteed to keep your feet movin’ on the dance floor.  In fact, this release is certain to be bigger than the first.

Smith has brought together some of the most talented musicians in the business.  You will notice this on every single song.  All of the songs allow for exceptional solos, including Now or Never, which features a fabulous sax solo, Roll the Boogie that lets the pianist, Siebert, shine and there is an excellent call and response between the drum and sax on Blow Me a Fat Note.  Every song on this CD gives the musicians ample opportunity to shine and they know how to take advantage of that.

Smith’s smooth, sexy vocals compliment the music very well.  I particularly liked her on Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You?  It really feels like she’s coming right through the CD to sing to me personally.   She also gets playful with her vocals on Honey Pie.  I would have liked to see her be more playful throughout the CD.  Don’t get me wrong, she is an outstanding singer.  Each song individually is solid, however, as I listened to the whole CD at once, I felt there was opportunity to bust out a little but Smith played it safe with her tried and true technique. 

As a dancer, I’m truly excited about this CD.  There are a range of tempos and the variety of songs keep me interested and on the dance floor all night.

Bottom Line:  To buy or not to buy….BUY!  Here’s how: