Brad Vickers and His Vestapolitans - The Music Gets Us Through - New Release Review

 

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Music Gets Us Through, by Brad Vickers and His Vestapolitans and it's a mix of blues and rocks styles. Opening with Dumb Like A Fox, brad Vockers on lead guitar and vocal is joined by Margey Peters on bass and vocal, Bill Rankin on drums, Jim Davis on tenor sax and V D King on bari sax. Jimmy Reed's Take It Slow slips into a Chicago style groove with Mikey Junior on harmonica and adding Dean Shot on guitar. With a shift to rag time style, Margey Peters is featured on lead vocal on Big Wind with Dave Gross and Vickers on guitar and with Charlie Burnham on violin. Nice job. Leroy Kirkland's slues shuffle, I'll Be Sittin', I'll Be Rockin' is pretty hot with Vickers up front on guitar and vocal and solo sax by Jim Davis. snappy drum work by Bill Rankin and with VD King on accordion. Wrapping the release is Alex Atkin's shuffle, When I Am Drinking, with Peteres and Vickers on duet vocals over a straight up guitar rhythm and strong sax work by Davis. 

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Man Hat Tone artist: Brad Vickers and his Vestapolitans - Twice As Nice - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Twice As Nice, from Brad Vickers and his Vestapolitans and it's it's freewheeling blues. Opening with Big Maceo's Worried Life Blues, Vickers on guitar and lead vocal leads the Vestapolitans in a traditional shuffle. With Bill Rankin on bass, Jim Davis on tenor sax, Dave Keyes on piano, VD King on bari sax and Dean Shot on guitar, a solid opener. On Jimmy Reed's Close Together, Margey Peters joins on backing vocal and bass. Her touch gives the track an additional dimension and a raspy sax solo Davis adds a nice spice. Coast to Coast is a cool rocker with hot solos by Vickers, Keyes, and Davis. Very cool. Vickers turns over the mic to Peters for Twice As Nice, deferring his work to bottleneck guitar and with wailing nice clarinet by Davis. Memphis Jug Band's Stealin' Stealin' is my favorite track on the release with Mikey Junior on vocal and harmonica with Peters (who also plays bass) and Vickers on guitar, Rankin on drums, Davis on sax and King on bari sax. Mikey Junior, Davis and Vickers take real nice solos on Look A There Look A There, a super swing rocker with great tempo. Very nice. Wrapping the release is another Peters original, Brooklyn Evenings. With it's rimshot timing and featuring Charlie Burnham on violin, it has an old style blues feel and with Vickers shifting over to bass, Dave Gross' guitar work adds a nice sparkle to the closer. 

  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”

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ManHatTone Records artist: Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans - That's What They Say - New release review

I just received the newest release (October 27, 2015), That's What They Say, from Brad Vickers & His Vestapolitans and it's a lot of fun! Opening with Tampa Red's Seminole Blues with it's rockin boogie style. Vickers on lead vocal and bottleneck slide, Margey Peters on bass and Bill Rankin on drums this is a cool opener. Ledbelly's Don't You Love Your Daddy No More? has a super Bourbon Street feel. Vickers again on lead vocal and slide and Dave Gross on bass and mandolin, this track features real nice clarinet work by Jim Davis and bari sax work from Matt Cowan. If You Leave Me Now is a crisp rag track with Vickers on lead vocal and guitar with Charles Burnham on fiddle and Margey Peters on 2nd fiddle. Very cool! Shuffle track, Everything About You Is Blue features Vickers on lead vocal and Burnham with fiddle lead and soloing, backed by Peters on vocal and bass and Rankin on drums. Country rocker, Another Lonesome Road, blends Vickers lead with Peters on harmony. Her walking bass line drives the train and Cowan and Davis produce the heat on horns, anchored by Dave Gross on percussion. Cool! Really stripped down, almost Lou Reed like, That's What They Say is really a cool track. Vickers has this track in the palm of his hand with compact vocals and distinctive rock guitar riffs played acoustically. Very nice! Mountain Sparrow has a very rural country feel with Vickers on guitar and vocal, Dave Gross on bass, banjo and mandolin and Peters on fiddle. Spiritual track, Fightin', gets Vickers, Peters and Mikey Jr all involved for a real round sound. With handclaps and basic percussion, this is one of the strongest tracks on the release. Don't You Change A Thing is a simple country rocker with a slight cajun feel with Vickers on lead vocal, Gross n bass, Peters on fiddle and Rankin on drums. Wishing Well is as much as you can say in 44 seconds featuring Peters and Vickers on vocal, and Peters on fiddle. Mama's Cookin', a boogie track features Peters on lead vocal. Gross on bass, Matt Cowan and Jim Davis on sax hold down the bottom and Rankin keeps the drums on the light side allowing the track to swing. Twenty-first Century Rag features a duet with Vickers and Peters. Charles Burnham plays lead fiddle and Peters on second is backed by Gross on bass and Rankin on drums. Nice and easy with country fiddle, this is straight up. Rockin' The Secret takes a full departure with a hard driving bass line by Peters and hot hor backing by Cowan and Davis. Gross is on piano and Vickers lays down cool guitar riffs as well as lead vocals. Swing track, Having A Ball, has a great bass line by Peters and some smoking electric guitar riffs by Dave Gross. Almost venturing into Commander Cody territory, this is my favorite track on the release. Wrapping the release is In For A Penny, a really solemn track with Vickers on bottleneck slide. Gross is in on guitar, mandolin and drums but it's the vocals by Peters, Christine Santelli and Gina Sicilia on vocal that gives it it's special feel.

   

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”

 

ManHatTone artists: Brad Vickers & his Vestapolitans - Great Day In The Morning - New release Review

I just received the newest release, Great Day In The Morning, by Brad Vickers & his Vestapolitans and it's a lot of fun. Opening with Little Gem, a swing rocker, Vickers gets the ball rolling in style. Train Goin' Westward Bound is a smart little track with a bluegrass base. Featuring Vickers on vocal and bottleneck slide the track has a quirky but interesting sound supported strongly by Matt Cowan on bari sax and Jim Davis on tenor sax. Saving String Rag has a real light hearted sound featuring Charles Burnham on fiddle as well as Margey Peters on backing vocals. Sit Down and Talk, one of my favorites on the release, is a great little country blues track featuring nice acoustic guitar and vocal work. Great Day In The Morning has a strong country sound with bluegrass additions. This is another cool track with nice banjolete from V D King, fiddle work by Burnham and of course strong vocals and slide work from Vickers. Saturday Blues has a real rural country blues sound featuring Margey on vocals and some wicked slide riffs from Vickers. It's A Good Life is a cool boogie featuring Jeremy Baum on piano and a strong bass line from Peters. Again Vickers plays some real nice slide work on this track. This Might Be Your Day is another country blues swing track featuring Peters on vocal. These tracks has a real rural feel and are just cool to sit back and listen to. Burnham plays another real nice fiddle solo on this track with Vickers providing a strong rhythm against his riff. Cowan also gets the chance to play a nice sax solo as well. Anna Lou Blues takes a stronger blues stance with a real lean backing track. Vickers mimics his vocals on slide as a cool effect. The Way It's Got To Be takes a Texas style track and drives the boogie with Peters pushing the bass, nice sax work from Cowan and Davis and really nice backing vocals from Gina Siclla and Christine Santelli. Together For Good, primarily a vocal track has a very strong gospel influence with Baum on Hammond and featuring Gina Siclla and Christine Santelli on vocals. Closing with Dallas Blues, a really smooth rag blues is another of my favorites on the release. Davis dons the clarinet for this track and the sax's keep the bottom warm. Again Burnham plays a cool fiddle solo and ultimately the track turns to full Dixieland style jam. Excellent! This is an unusual recording but if you are adventurous, this is pretty cool!

  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”