| I Smell Smoke | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Michael Burks |
| Cover: | I Smell Smoke.jpg |
| Released: | 2003 |
| Studio: | Ardent |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Label: | Alligator |
| Producer: | Michael Burks, Bruce Iglauer, Jim Gaines |
| Prev Title: | Make It Rain |
| Prev Year: | 2001 |
| Next Title: | Iron Man |
| Next Year: | 2008 |
I Smell Smoke is an album by the American musician Michael Burks, released in 2003.[1] [2] It was his second album for Alligator Records.[3] I Smell Smoke peaked at No. 12 on Billboards Top Blues Albums chart.[4] Burks supported it with a North American tour.[5] I Smell Smoke was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award for best "Contemporary Blues Album".[6]
Recorded at Ardent Studios, in Memphis, the album was produced by Burks, Bruce Iglauer, and Jim Gaines.[7] [8] The son of a blues musician, Burks was told "the right way to play" guitar by family friends such as Albert Collins and Freddie King.[9] Burks felt that emotional conviction was more important than guitar technique, and would often work out the songs in a darkened room.[10] It was also important to Burks that the music remain more in a blues idiom than blues rock.[11] "Let the Door Knob Hit You" is a cover of the Latimore song.
The Charleston Daily Mail wrote that "Burks takes his blues roots and channels them into a stinging blend of soul and R&B with some Santana-esque overtones."[12] The Age noted that, "buried deep in Michael Burks' soul are the relics of Stax Records' heady early-'70s period, when Albert King was riding high with his Gibson Flying V guitar."[13] The Tallahassee Democrat said that "Burks' deep, soulful voice is the perfect counterpoint to the music's smoldering sound."[14] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram concluded that "the songs are better this time around."
AllMusic wrote that, "with a tone sounding at times like Eric Clapton's psychedelic work in Cream and a rugged four-piece band supporting him, this is a tough, uncompromising contemporary blues/blues-rock/R&B album that doesn't pull punches."