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I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Let The Gods Sing, from Herman Hitson, and I like it! Opening with title track, Let The Gods Sing, with it's rich, soulful, anthem like feel, Hitson really has a great start. With chant like vocals, eccentric rhythm guitar work (which I really like) by Hitson and Will Sexton on lead guitar, a firm bass line by Mark Edgar Stuart, Will McCarley on drums and full organ attack by Al Gamble, this is a terrific opening track. A cool change up is Ain't No Other Way with it's full "James Brown" on including horn pumping...great groove. A driving, somewhat psychedelic take on Willie Dixon's Backdoor Man is really cool with wowing vocals and backing organ. Wrapping the release is an upbeat funky track, Yampertown Funk with a cool bari/tenor sax horn mix and heavy organ work over a cool drum beat and guitar rhythm. This is a cool release and if you like your stuff funky, this could be your deal!
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
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For your convenience, you can click the title of this post above to be taken to a site where this cd can be purchased - Happy Listening
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Incinerator, from Jimbo Mathus and it's really good. if you've been reading my reviews and commentary for a while, you know that I really like the work of Mathus. His output varies from deep blues (Buddy Guy) and 30's jazz (Squirrel Nut Zippers) to Mississippi hill country music and flat out rock (and many things in between). I wasn't sure what to expect from Mathus on this outing after his multi year hiatus touring with the SNZ but it is seems to be an unsorted mixture of everything he's been working on for the past few years. Opening with You Are Like A Song, a cool natural country song featuring Mathus on piano and lead vocal, backed by Matt Patton on bass and Bronson Tew on guitar this track is an instant radio track. The melody will stick in your head and Patton and Tew's backing vocals are all country. Very nice. One of my favorite tracks on the release, Really Hurt Someone is a strong soul track with Mathus showing his emotion. Steve Butler on fiddle, paired with Mathus' own piano creates a great feel. Excellent! With a traditional waltz tempo and Mathus' wry styling, South of Laredo has a real nice old style country western feel. Mathus vocals, never pretty, are perfect for a track like this and the female vocals on this track are a great compliment. If you've been following Mathus' solo career for a while, you know he always has tracks that stand out and you don't know what they mean, but you really like them. Alligator Fish is one of them with it's raw hill country like vibe, James Brown boogaloo rhythm and distorted guitar railing by Bronson over Mathus' voodoo like chanting. Excellent! Another trait of Mathus' solo releases are simple traditional story telling songs with candid vocal discussion like David Bromberg or Porter Wagoner (among others). Jack Told The Devil is one such track and I really like it. Featuring some up front piano work by Mathus and Bobby Isbell on dobro, this is a great track. Another of my favorite tracks on the release is ballad, Sunken Road, a lovely composition reminiscent of Butcher Bird from Dark Night of the Soul and featured on TV's Ray Donovan. Lilly Hiatt sings along with Mathus on this track and adds nicely. Wrapping the release is Carter family's Give me The Roses in conventional country simple style. Mathus embraces these simple country roots and with nicely blended additional voices, fiddle (Butler), banjo (Ernie Welsh) and dobro (Isbell) an excellent closer for another really nice release from Mathus.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
“Like” Bman’s Facebook page and get support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (September 29, 2017), Jetlagger, by Bette Smith and I really like it. Opening with original track, I Will Feed You, a dynamic "Macy Gray" styled ballad with a really strong melody, Smith lays out what I think it a sure fire radio track. With Jimbo Mathus on guitar and keys, Bronson Tew on drums, Matt Patton on bass, Scott Goolsby on guitar, Jamison Hollister on violin, Marc Franklin & Kirk Smothers on horns, and Susan Marshall on backing vocals, the music is thick. Excellent! R&B track, Flying Sweet Angel of Joy has rich gospel like backing vocals giving this track a super richness. Jimbo Mathus' Dirty Hustlin' gets a super funk treatment and it really is strong. This track is perfect for Smith and deep backing vocals, paired with the bass/drum work and a clever guitar solo by Mathus makes it one of my favorites as well. Another Mathus penned track, Moaning Bench, has strong R&B drive with punchy horns and powerful vocals. Isaac Hayes, Do Your Thing, has a super darkness with Smith showing the lower vocal range and the bari sax and bass working nicely with the organ and drums give it just the right feel. Wrapping the release is City In The Sky, another solid R&B track with a beefy bass line. Smith's vocals are sure and Mathus' guitar work has a nice looseness further showcasing just how strong Smith is. I really like this release. If you want a rich earful of soulful music...this is it!
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
“Like” Bman’s Facebook page and get support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE
I just received the newest release, Age Don't Mean A Thing, from Robert Finley and it's a powerful new soul release. Opening with high stepping Memphis groove, I Just Want To Tell You, Robert Finley wastes no time establishing that his talent far exceeds his professional experience. An extremely soulful vocalist, Finley traveled north to Memphis to work with members of the Bo-Keys. Players include a who’s who of the Memphis soul scene including drummer Howard Grimes (Al Green, Otis Clay, Syl Johnson, OV Wright), Marc Franklin (Bobby “Blue” Bland), Jimbo Mathus (Elvis Costello), Al Gamble (St. Paul & The Broken Bones, the Hold Steady, Alex Chilton), Kirk Smothers (Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Guy), Reba Russell (U2, BB King), Harold Thomas (James Carr) and Daunielle Hill (Solomon Burke). With full soul backing vocals and Al Gamble's B3 rolling this is a great opener. On title track, Age Don't Mean A Thing, Finley really sings with gut wrenching authority. This track is exceptional with almost spiritual organ work by Gamble and essential underpinnings by Mathus. R&B track, Let Me Be Your Everything, is saturated with horn work by Kirk Smothers and trumpet by Marc Franklin and super backing vocals by Russell and Hill. Slowing down to a smoldering simmer, It's Too Late, puts Finley back upfront with nicely blended backing vocals by Russell and Hill. This is a really nice track and one that could easily hit the radio hard. Solid soul track, Snake In My Grass, has a nicely anchored melody with Finley's vocals drawing out the emotions, complimented by Smothers and Franklin. Very nice. James Brown like, Come On, gets a super groove cooking pressing you to get on your feet. With warm vocals and horn punctuating over a wah wah and funky bass work, how can you not love this! 70's pop track, Make It With You, written by David Gates, is given a really soulful overdo with light guitar rhythm, shimmery organ and Finley's powerful vocals. Very nice. You Make Me Want To Dance has a real Al Green kind of feel and you automatically feel that bounce starting in your head. Russell, Thomas and Hill really warm up the background on this track and Smothers and Franklin work is tight. Super. Wrapping the release is excellent soul track, Is It Possible To Love 2 People. With warm sax work by Smothers, nicely placed guitar riffs by Mathus, tom tom work by Grimes, B3 by Gamble and tight punctuation by Franklin, this track leaves you with nothing but wanting more. Excellent release.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
Get Gone, the debut
album from Shreveport, LA's Seratones is available worldwide
today.
Led by
powerhouse frontwoman A.J. Haynes whose thunderous vocals recall the
grit of Janis Joplin and gospel of Mavis Staples, Seratones’ debut
is one of the best rock records you will hear in 2016. Haynes’s
powerful singing voice, first honed at Brownsville Baptist Church
in Columbia, Louisiana at age 6, rings across every track. Adam
Davis’s bass and Jesse Gabriel’s playing propel every song with
the grit, energy, and rawness of punk, the feeling of soul,
and occasionally, a little jazz swing. While Connor Davis offers a
clinic in guitar riffs, from swaggering blues to searing
interstellar leads.
* Read
an amazing review of Get Gone from The Wall Street
Journal here.
“‘Chandelier’
is a southern gothic garage rock jam that will have you buying a
leather jacket and dreaming of the summer...Everything’s coming up
Seratones.” – Noisey
“Shreveport,
La.'s Seratones is a kick-ass rock band that has all the stage
presence in the world.” – NPR Music
“While there was
more than enough great music [at SXSW] – among those who
excelled were…Seratones” – Wall Street
Journal
“…right in the
Southern rock wheelhouse…equal parts swagger and aggression.” – Stereogum
Grab a copy
today at your favorite local record store, or order a copy below: Buy it on
vinyl here. Buy on
iTunes here. Buy on
Amazon here. Buy on
Google Play here.
5/06 St.
Paul, MN @ Turf Club 5/07 Chicago,
IL @ Hideout 5/08 Cincinnati,
OH @ MOTR Pub 5/10 Detroit,
MI @ Marble Bar 5/11 Columbus,
OH @ Big Room Bar 5/13 Nashville,
TN @ The Basement 5/14 Little
Rock, AR @ White Water Tavern 6/03 Richmond,
VA @ Brown’s Island 6/05 Charleston,
WV @ Mountain Stage – The Clay Center
Jimbo Mathus - Band of Storms
LP / Digital Out Today (Big Legal Mess)
"Band
of Storms is the third studio set Mathus has put out in
just over two years, and if he's running out of ideas, you wouldn't
guess it to hear the work. Running through nine songs in less than 25
minutes, Band of Storms is compact, but the collection of
songs is eclectic, with Mathus pushing each tune forward with
lots of energy and raw enthusiasm." - Mark Deming
Grab a copy
today at your favorite local record store, or order a copy below:
Buy from BLM
here. Buy on
iTunes here. Buy on
Amazon here.
