South Blossom Records artist: Tommy Z - Sometimes - New Release Review

I just received the newest recording, Sometimes, by Tommy Z and it's killer!! First I've got to tell you that I wasn't earlier familiar with Tommy's work and if you aren't, it's high time! The release opens with Roger That, a hot Texas blues guitar powered instrumental along the lines of Coundn't Stand The Weather. This track is flaming white hot and readily fills the void for original hot guitar riffs that have been missing for a lot of years now. Backed by Frank Reino on bass and Damone Jackson on drums this track cranks! Z and the gang take on JG Watson's Gangster of Love and add horns by Sam Guarino, Barry Arbogast and  Gil DeBrasse laying out a great blues butt whoppin version of an already great track. Old Love is a soul style blues with a nice bass lead riff by Jerry Livingston. The singing on this track is definitely in the blue eyed soul (Philly sound) vein set down by Todd Rundgren and Darrel Hall decades ago but the instrumentation is pushed more into the blues. This is a really strong track and could easily make general audience airplay. Z chokes his strat squeezing out some really soulful solos as well as showing that he has great fluidity of style. Livingston plays a nice bass solo on this track as well. Sweet! Snooty Funk, (an update on the Meter's Cissy Strut) is really hot! If you like funk and you like fusion this is the track for you. Adding JJ Moscato on organ, this is an outright license to rumble. Get on your dancin' shoes or set your head to bobbin'! I absolutely love your drummin' Jackson...it is definitely noticed! Livin' In A Blue State is a more mainstream kind of track but with some fuzz blown Texas guitar riffs under the melody leading to some hot soloing throughout. Z really has a cool voice for this band this track does explore some interesting ground vocally as well as instrumentally. So Tired Of Being Lonely is a straight up slow blues along the lines of Otis Rush and a great opportunity for Z to express his blues chops. His vocals are very solid and the band is really tight with Barry Arbogast and the Riverside Horns cementing the middle. This is a 1st class blues number and one that should win Z a lot of notoriety. Excellent! I Got Your Back is a new twist on the Help Me line and a really cool take it is. A dash of John Lee Hooker, a dash of modern Texas style and a dash of Louisiana flare, Z creates a great track with hooks that are certain to get noticed. Sometimes is a really cool track with a strong root in the R&B circuit. Z has this track nailed and although really booked as a guitar slinger, Z is a really strong vocalist who plays an exceptional blues riff. If he couldn't sing he'd be an exceptional blues guitar player. Tommy's Boogie is a hot guitar boogie instrumental. Z pulls out all of the stops and shows every kind of riff known to appear in a contemporary blues song. Clocking in at just under 6 minutes...this is one hell of a guitar track! Here's a recommendation from me, Buy this! Don't wait to find it used on ebay! This is a great cd!

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