Little Jack Melody and His Young Turks’ Noise and Smoke (Kilroy), celebrating Texas’ most twisted cabaret act, finally captures the group in its element (i.e., recorded live). . . . Catfish, Carp, and Diamonds: 35 Years of Texas Blues (Catfish), a survey of homegrown sounds recorded by folk scholar Tary Owens, includes tracks by the Grey Ghost, Mance Lipscomb, and Dave Tippen, an elderly prisoner who delivers a heart-wrenching performance recorded behind prison walls. . . . Quiero Un Camaro (#3), by Los #3 Dinners, marks the first recording in more than a decade by San Antonio’s loosest garage band. . . . Mean Gene Kelton’s Most Requested (Avatar) offers fifteen scorching boogie and blues tracks, including the signature “My Baby Don’t Wear No Panties” from the journeyman Houston bar warrior, with his two sons as his rhythm section. . . . Rob Roy Parnell’s Jacksboro Highway (Blue Rocket) manages to pay righteous homage to jump blues, T-Bone Walker, the Jacksboro Highway, and the Texas roadhouse experience on this eleven-song compilation produced by his brother, Lee Roy. by Joe Nick Patoski
