'Barbed Wire and Silk' is an apt analogy of the way music can be interpreted as having some rough edges (like life then do an about face and be as smooth as silk stockings). The tenderness of the heart is heard while all the trials and tribulations that people go through in life are touched upon in asong. A good story line and great music driving it completes the task. In essence, Jimmy "O" is a rambunctious San Fernando, California based guitar player and vocalist who likes to tear it up. On Barbed Wire and Silk, his second album on Smokestack Records, Jimmy and his road-toughened band rip, roar and finesse their way through 12 originals aimed at the fans who pack their bar shows night after night. Although he cites the three Kings, Elmore James and Johnny Winter as primary influences, and traces of their blues styles do show up in his axe wielding, his execution stems more from a rock base. Right away the gauntlet is thrown and the band kicks into high gear. Jimmy's snarling vocal and careening guitar lines make it perfectly clear that he is, in fact, "Livin' for the Good Time." But this is certainly no one dimensional act. Rene Castro's percussion gives "Trouble on 2 Legs" somewhat of an early Santana flavor while "Wind Chill Blues," a compelling instrumental, would fit well on an Allman Brothers album. The moody blues of "Under The Weather" is one of those tracks that settles into your subconscious mind. They'd be well-served to explore more of this addictive music in the future. Blues-tinged rock and roll of the kind Johnny Winter could have trademarked shows up in tracks like "She Won't Do It (But Her Sister Will)," "Breakdown" and "Ain't Too Hard." This is the kind of material that the Jimmy "O" band is most comfortable in and excels at. Songs like these, with their exciting and inspired rapid-fire guitar play skirting around a locked groove, seem to work best on a cramped stage in a smoke-fogged saloon. That's what Jimmy "O" aims at, and his aim sure is true! Get a hold of Barbed Wire and Silk by Jimmy "O." -Tom Clarke, BLUESprint Northeast Blues Society, Scotia, NY