Joey Stuckey: Six String Soldier Review: Well-Titled

If you haven’t heard of singer-songwriter Joey Stuckey, his new EP, “Six String Soldier” is an invitation to a full, Americana sound that goes from ballad-infused to bluesy in a heartbeat and never looks back.

Opening up for bands the likes of Bad Company and Trisha Yearwood to James Brown and Smash Mouth, Stuckey is no stranger to the industry and has also worked in the industry for decades as a producer, composer, musician and sound engineer with Alan Parsons, Chuck Leavell and Mike Mills (R.E.M.) as well. With a vocal sound that bites at times and is smooth at others, he’s able to tell a ton of stories across the seven-song EP that his guitar backs up.

The thing that makes this EP a special one is Stuckey’s versatility. Make no mistake, he’s a top-notch guitarist as every track showcases a solo or a riff you’ll get stuck in your head. The case usually with strong guitarists, Stuckey could and should get a pass if his voice wasn’t able to get the job done, but like Eric Clapton, he’s got a solid voice that grows on you the more you listen. But unlike Clapton, he’s got a grit and snarl to his voice- a unique timber that adds flavor to his work that can’t be done with a guitar. Simply put, he doesn’t sound like anyone and is a natural teller of tales.

Such is the case with “Another Girl,” a track with plenty of excellent guitar work and lyrics, but thanks to some rasp from Stuckey and memorable licks, it’s a winner.

But away from the more rough tracks, Stucky can sing a ballad too. “All Roads Lead To A Broken Heart” is the type of track you’d expect in a southern dive bar with live music. A story that plenty can relate too, Stuckey shows us again that he’s as versatile on the microphone as he is with the ax. Add in the vocal harmonies and pure soul feel and it’s almost like a Meat Loaf track at times.

Behind his stellar string work, balanced vocals and a great backing band, this EP grows on you. Perfect for a long car ride and even better for a night alone, the tracks featured are proof that Stuckey deserves far more mainstream recognition than he’s gotten thus far in his career.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13904 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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