Cleopatra Blues artist: Arthur Adams - Kick Up Some Dust - New Release Review

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Kick Up Some Dust, from Arthur Adams and it's super. Opening with It Makes Me Mad, a strong R&B style blues, Arthur Adams has a silky smooth voice and great blues hands. Backed by Hense Powell on keys, Lou Castro on bass, David Leach on percussion and James Gadson on drums, this is a terrific opener. Soulful, Hold On To Me is another showcase for Adam's voice with super phrasing and perfect guitar accents. With Freddie Washington on bass, Powell on keys and Greg Brown on drums, this is another strong track. Title track, Kick Up Some Dust, is a slick, instrumental with Adams leading the way on solo guitar. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Thieves Of Love with deep soulful groove and warm guitar articulation by Adams. Powell on keys, Washington on bass and James Gadson on drums really make it happen on this one. Wrapping the release is funky,  A Bag Of Soul with it's JG Watson or WW Washington kind of feel. Adams take his guitar for a nice instrumental stroll, backed by Powell, Brown and Washington. This really is a strong album with plenty of soulful funky blues. Eat up!

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Cleopatra Records artist: William Shatner - The Blues - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Blues, from William Shatner, yes that William Shatner. What's it like...you'll have to see for yourself.  Opening with blues classic, Sweet Home Chicago, Shatner teams up with Brad Paisley who throws down some cool blues and country riffs along with Jurgen Engler on guitar, bass and banjo, Chris Lentz on keys and Adam Hamilton on drums, bass, guitar and harmonica. Shatners vocals are freeform and emotional. Otis Rush's I Can't Quit You Baby, features Kirk Fletcher who runs some real nice glues riffs of his own and manages Shatner's freeform vocals nicely. Cream's Sunshine of Your Love is up next, mostly in spoken word and I gotta say that Hamilton's work on drums is exceptional and Landreth wails on slide. Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore takes BB King's, The Thrill Is Gone to the next level and Shatner's vocals are as relaxed as I've ever heard on this track. Pat Travers screams on guitar on Screamin Jay's, I Put A Spell On You and Shatner keeps his cool with almost shouted lyrics. I think that Smokestack Lightning with Steely Dan and Doobies' Jeff Skunk Baxter is my favorite track on the release with Shatner "sing" crying where he almost sounds high. Baxter doesn't let up a bit with slashing guitar riffs. With a serious nature, As The Years Go Passing By, Shatner seems to be performing a play (Like Jack Palance singing country) and featuring Arthur Adams with sweet soloing. The track that I find best suited to Shatner on the release is In Hell I'll Be In Good Company with Albert Lee. His spoken work is animated and Lee's guitar work is spry. Actually very cool. Wrapping the release is Secrets Or Sins, with a whisper like vocal and a shuffle rhythm. I really am not sure what Shatner was trying to do with this release, but it got my attention.

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Cleopatra Blues artist: Shirley King - Blues For A King - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues For A King, from BB King's daughter, Shirley King and it's jam packed with blues and legends. Opening with Joe Louis Walker's All Of My Lovin' , King is up front on lead vocal backed by Walker on guitar and Jurgen Engler on guitar, bass and drums. Holding firm on a R&B setup, King sets a straight 60's styling radio track. With super guitar work by Elvin Bishop under King's bluesy vocals, I Did You Wrong has a cool shuffle beat and a tight bottom. An unexpected rock gem, Steve Winwood's Can't Find My Way Home features Martin Barre with some excellent guitar and is one of my favorites and also possibly King's best vocal effort on the release. Gallow Pole maintains it's folk roots but with a rock edge and underlying guitar work by Harvey Mandel with really is a strong compliment. A rework of a Jr Wells track features vocal and harp by Wells, adding guitar by Walker, bass by Engler and strong vocal leads by King. Very cool. Wrapping the release is Etta James' At last using the conventional arrangement and featuring Kings own vocals. With the addition of Steve Cropper on guitar, a solid closer. 

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Cleopatra Records artist: Arthur Adams - Here To Make You Feel Good - New release review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Here To Make You Feel Good, from Arthur Adams and it's solid gold. Opening with Tear the House Down, a funky track with a definite dance feel, features Adams on lead guitar and vocal, backed by Ronnie Laws on sax, David Leach on percussion, Reggie McBride on bass, Hense Powell on keys, and James Gadson on drums.  Smooth, Latin influenced R&B style track, Pretty Lady has a real nice melody and with Freddie Washington on bass. Adams gets his guitar "singing" with Santana like flair over the strong percussion of Gadson. Very nice. Adams puts in a particularly strong vocal effort on radio track, Forgive Me. The addition of Lee Thornberg and Lester Lovett on trumpet, as well as Bill Bergman on sax gives the track an overall warmer feel and Adams' jazzy guitar lead shines. My personal favorite on the release is excellent blues number, By Myself, with BB King styling. Adams is strong vocally and on guitar with Thornberg, Lovett and Bergman on horns making it feel like a fresh new friend. Very nice. Wrapping the release is a cool instrumental shuffle, Little Dab'll Do Ya, featuring Adams jamming over the heat with Gadson, Powell and Washington. Solid closer for a fun release. 

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Cleopatra Records artist: Arthur Adams - Look At What The Blues Has Done For Me! - New Release Review

I just has the opportunity to review the most recent release, Look At What The Blues Has Done For Me!, from Arthur Adams and it's a soul saturated 2 disc release. Opening with You Pullin' My Leg, a cool blues shuffle Adams on lead vocal and guitar, James Gadson on on drums, Hense Powell on keys and Brian Simpson on bass. With a real nice lope, No Refunds is great track with a 50's feel. Fluid guitar lead and a solid bottom makes this on of the best new tunes on the release. One of my favorites, Low Down And Dirty has a BB King feel, showing some of Adams' best vocals and tight guitar riffs with added punch on sax by Bill Bergman and Lee Thornberg on trumpet. Very nice. Deep blues flows on Leftover  From Yesterday, with soulful vocals, crisp lead guitar lines and warm blues rhythm. Nice. Closing disc one, is R&B track, Gorgeous, with it's smooth feel and solid vocals. Every disc needs to have a radio track and this is it.

Disc 2 is an introduction to Adams' work featuring selections from 4 studio releases from the 70's as well as  a bonus single from the 80's. I Gotta Help My People is a real cool track that has sounds like Curtis Mayfield and Neil Young. With a powerhouse feel, instrumental Keep On Dancing, has a taste of Ike and Tina with a hard driving groove, a cool trumpet solo and horn punctuation. Beale Street has a super party feel with great bass lines and super vocal blending over a tight drum rhythm and cool horn work. A particular standout track on disc 2 has a great War sound with a funky bottom and female vocals charged by driving drums, trumpet and bluesy guitar work. Wrapping the release is You Got The Floor, a swirling dance track with thumping bass, dance drums and warmly blended vocals. This is a cool, bluesy soul release with a broad selection of cool tracks.

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If I Did Not Have You - Arthur Adams Blues Band

Arthur Adams was born in a small town in Medon, Tennessee; twelve miles from Jackson, Tennessee. Jackson is eighty-four miles north of Memphis, Tennessee. Arthur attended Tennessee State University for one year, then, joined Jimmy Beck's Band in the early sixties. He traveled throughout the south and moved to Los Angeles, California in the late sixties where he began his recording and writing career.

His first album "It's Private Tonight" is on Blue Thumb records. "Home Brew" and "Midnight Serenade" are both on Fantasy records. "Back on Track" is on Blind Pig records, and "Soul of the Blues" is on PMRC records.

Arthur has played some of the top blues and jazz festivals in the world. Central Jazz & Blues Festival in Los Angeles, Long Beach Blues Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, Pocono Blues Festival, Biscuit & Blues club in San Francisco, B.B. King's Blues clubs in both Hollywood and Memphis, Le Passage Blues Festival in France, Le Meridian Hotel - Lionel Hampton Jazz Club in Paris, Blues Autour Du Zinc in France, Handzame Blues in Brussels, Belgium, Blues Estefette in Utrecht, Holland, Cozy's Bar & Grill in Los Angeles, Harvelles in Los Angeles, Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland, Ritz Carlton Hotels in Los Angeles and Pasadena, Muddy's Club in Germany, Banana Peel in Belgium and Buddy Guy's in Chicago.

Arthur has played and recorded with B.B. King, wrote the song "Mean and Evil" and "Something Up My Sleeve" for B.B. King. He also wrote the song "Love and Peace" for Quincy Jones' grammy award-winning "Walking In Space" album, "Somebody Is Gonna Miss Me" for Sam Cooke on the "Twistin the 'Nite Away" album, "Truck Load of Loving" for Albert King, played guitar on the "Nick of Time" album for Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Smith's album, "Root Down", Jerry Garcia's "Garcia", the Crusaders' "Street Life", Johnnie Guitar Watson, Dr. John and many more. Arthur appears in the movie "Town & Country", starring Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn where played and sang the song "I Can't Stand the Rain".

Arthur's freight train guitar and soul-steeped vocals, combined with his prolific predilection for writing great material (often in conjunction with award-winning composer Will Jennings), are all brilliantly showcased on his Blind Pig debut Back On Track, his first album in two decades. The set features two sparkling duets ("Got You Next To Me" and "The Long Haul") pairing Adams with his principal stylistic influence, the great B.B. King, and his regal presence is quite an honor for his long time friend Arthur.
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