Search - Bobby Parker :: Shine Me Up

Bobby Parker's 1992 debut album, Bent Out of Shape, looked to the past and summarized 35 years of legendary singles, tantalizing brushes with fame, and undeserved obscurity. His follow-up release, Shine Me Up, looks to the future. Parker has titled his 10 songs after modern slang he heard on the streets of Washington, after such phrases as "Kick It Around with You," "(You Got Me Doing the) Wild Thing," "Splib's Groove" and "Shine Me Up." He has connected those lyrics to music that draws a line through Magic Sam-like blues, James Brown-like funk, and Chuck Brown-like go-go. The result is a recording that bows to neither today's transient trends nor yesterday's calcified traditions. Parker is a solid songwriter and a gifted soul singer, especially on the wonderfully catchy title track. Nonetheless he won the admiration of everyone from John Lennon to Carlos Santana as a guitarist. Parker gets a thick, lively sound from his Stratocaster and he can slip a quick flurry of grace notes between vocal lines with astonishing control. --Geoffrey Himes