Number 7 Records artist: Jay Stollman with Debbie Davies - Room For One More - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Room For One More, from Jay Stollman with Debbie Davies and it's a romper. Opening with Walter Trout's Ride 'Til I'm Satisfied with Johnny Mennonna on bass and Tommy Nagy on drums drive a hard beat and with swagger to spare, Stollman on vocal and Debbie Davies on lead guitar blaze a great track. I'm Done is a straight up rocker with solid vocals from Stollman and includes some real nice slide work from Andy Abel and super keys from Matt Zeiner. Johnny Winter's Tired Of Tryin' has a heap of Johnnny's feel in it and remnants from Muddy Waters. I really like Stollman's vocals on this track and paired with Kevan Totoian on harp and Davies on lead guitar a regular Chicago style treat. Luther Johnson' Lonesome In My Bedroom is a terrific track showing the best of Stollman, Davies and Zeiner. A great slower blues track, Stollman has nice feel and Davies really gets a hold on the fretboard and rips some of her nicest lines that I have heard in a while. Very cool! Eddie Miller's, I'd rather Be Drinking Muddy Water takes a really nice shuffle and standout walking bass line by Scott Spray lays a super foundation for Davies to step out. This is a really nice showcase of her work and something that I'm really pleased to be presenting. Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come is a track that measures a vocalist's depth and I can say Stollman holds his own in a fine rendition of this classic. Backed by Zeiner on organ and dressed by a nicely articulated guitar solo from Jeremy Goldsmith this track really hums. Jr Walker track, Pucker Up Buttercup has that great 60's funk feel with Scott Spray hammering the bass and Davies laying in some fine blues riffs punching it up. Chuck Berry's Back To Memphis has it's distinctive Berry feel and Davies gets the double stops just right. Stollman leads the way and Zeiner on piano and organ rids high on a tight bass line by Spray. Rockin! Tumble has a real cool Latin blues feel and Davies gets a couple of really cool sounds riffing out on this number. Organ work by Zeiner creates great feel and Stollman sits nicely in the groove. Possibly my favorite track on the release. Can't Slow Down is a straight on rocker (like Don Nix's Goin' Down) and this band is up to the task. Andy Abel on lead and slide guitar joined by Spray on bass and Nagy on drums makes this a tight little rocker. Lonnie Johnson's Another Night To Cry gets a cool, slinky makeover with Abel just laying back in the pocket, counter punching with nice guitar riffs. Stollman has a unique quality to his voice making it somewhat addicting. It's cool when he does something really difficult because you see his strength. Climbing out like a tarantula after his prey, Abel steps up and devours the solo on this track. Nice! Country funk is the story on Devil In Disguise with a bit of an Elvin Bishop feel. Totoian is back on harp, paired with Davies, Spray and Nagy. A crisp little number gives Totoian a nice spot to show his stuff and Davies rips a nice hole in it herself. Love it! A bit of Louisiana funk on Love Me & Leave Me features a nice story telling posture by Stollman and spot on piano work by Zeiner. Davies is really hitting the line on this release and this track is no exception, complimented nicely by slide work by Abel giving it an almost George/Barrere/Payne/Hayward feel. Excellent! Wrapping the release is title track, Room For One More, a soulful acoustic number. Stollman gets one more chance to show his super vocals backed by warm acoustic slide work of Abel. This is a tight release and one well worth checking out!  

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