Eric Gales - A Tribute to LJK
Reviewed by Laura DQ • 26 August 2025
If the title of Eric Gales’ latest album has you wondering who LJK might be, the answer can be found in the spoken word introduction, the voice of Gales’ brother Danuel revealing this as a tribute to another brother, the late Manuel Gales, also known as Little Jimmy King. In a family of five siblings, all of them guitar players, LJK set out to make his mark in the 90s as frontman of the Memphis Soul Survivors and would likely have carried on creating had his life not been cut tragically short in 2002, the result of a heart attack aged just 37.
But far from a sombre or tearful reflection, this is a joyful celebration, a showcase for LJK’s work with nine of the ten tracks his originals, interpreted lovingly by his little brother Eric and hopefully destined to reach a greater audience in his very capable hands. Opener ‘You Shouldn’t Have Left Me’ is a triumph, Eric’s incredible guitar playing front and centre, augmented by a lovely lilting bass line and bright stabs of brass.
Guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has noted LJK as an influence, and gets the opportunity to play homage here, guesting on the sexy ‘Rockin Horse Ride’, the first suggestion that LJK was no blues purist, instead mashing up funky grooves with rock and roll attitude. It’s this collision of styles that makes this album such a lot of fun; the strutting rocker ‘Don’t Wanna Go Home’ rubbing shoulders with the slow burning blues of ‘Something Inside of Me’, Gales’ soulful vocals at their best, his guitar crying with real feeling. ‘Baby Baby’ is wonderfully upbeat, a blast of sunshine that begs you to go back for a little more, ‘Worried Man’ introspective and delicate, a moody counterpoint to the utterly jubilant ‘Blues Been Too Good to Me’.
After a pleasing contribution to Gales’ 2022 album ‘Crown’, Joe Bonamassa is back for a couple of tracks, lending his unmistakeable voice to ‘It Takes a Whole Lot of Money’ on one verse, guitarist Josh Smith taking the lead on another. It’s a track centred around an irresistible call and response, and unsurprisingly, some very tasty licks from three masters of their craft.
As a man who collaborated with LJK, it’s fitting that the legendary Buddy Guy helps bring proceedings to a close with the traditional blues of ‘Somebody’. It’s a song that feels effortlessly classy, and highlights the enduring power of this music across the generations.
You’ll come for the story, but you’ll stay for the songs. It seems that LJK was overlooked in his lifetime, but as the clever lyric in ‘Guitar Man’ states, he’s ‘stroking [our] soul’ with his music now. With the reverence that only a loved one could deliver, Eric Gales has created something truly special.
‘A Tribute to LJK’ is available digitally from the 29th August, and physically from the 24th October.