Heartfixer Music artist: Tinsley Ellis - Red Clay Soul - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (June 3, 2016), Red Clay Soul, from Tinsley Ellis and it's got real soul. Opening with All I Think About, Tinsley Ellis shows that he is continuing to spread his wings. The rocking country blues track, features Ellis on lead vocal and guitar, joined by Kevin McKendree on organ and piano, Lynn Williams on drums and Steve Mackey on bass. With a bit more R&B styling, Givin' You Up has strong commercial potential with a solid hook and instrumentation. Callin' has an easy soul feel with an almost Al Green sound. I really like the melody on this track and Ellis alternates his blues runs with his own vocals. Very nice. Anything But Go stays in the soul vein and Ellis does a real nice job of delivering on vocals. McKendree's rich keyboard work anchors this track and Ellis' own melodic riffs are contained and well placed. One of my favorite tracks on the release, Hungry Woman Blues, is a deep soul track with a strong blues twist. Mackey creates a solid bottom on bass and McKendree's keyboards the ambiance for a very strong WW Washington/JG Watson style track. Excellent! Circuit Rider has the structure of Albert King's "The Hunter" but Ellis' version has some really nicely stylized guitar riffs giving the track a special something. Very nice job. Don't Cut It is a solid rocker reinforced by Williams tight rhythm. Really nicely phrased guitar riffs with shades of Cray and shimmering chords sets this track firmly in the top few on the release. Party Of One is a quiet blues number with Ellis' vocals up front and somber guitar work and warm riffs by McKendree setting up the track. Nicely executed guitar lead on the second verse gives this track a really memorable feel. Very nice. Spanish influenced, Estero Noche has that Latin jazz/rock flavor that carried Santana's Supernatural to great heights. This is a really nice track with moving percussion and flavorful guitar melody. Excellent! Wrapping the release is The Bottle, The Book or the Gun. This track has a nice cadence featuring possibly the most tasty solo featuring super flat bent vibrato accents. A cool track and an excellent closer for a really solid release.




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