American Showplace Music artist: Chris O'Leary - Gonna Die tryin' - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Gonna Die Tryin', from Chris O'Leary and it's in your face super! Folloing up to last year's Live At Blues Now! this release is long awaited. Opening with Can't Help Yourself, a slinky blues track with a gritty guitar vamp by Chris Vitarello and Chris O'Leary on lead vocal and harp this track is a great opener. Backed by Matt Raymond on bass, Bruce Katz on piano and Jay Devlin on drums, O'Leary hits solid on his harp solo making this one of the best opening tracks of the year! 19 Cents A Day has a strong, SB Williamson vamp behind it but with a fast driving pace really kicks it. Katz on organ really lays it out there with a hot solo with Andy Stahl and Chris Difrancesco joining on sax. Hot! Hook, Line and Sinker has a funky R&B feel Willa Panvini and Libby Cabello adding super backing vocals alone with Stahl and Difrancesco on sax. Vitarello adds some really nice guitar lines over Raymond's driving bass line and the sax men blow out some great riffs. Excellent! Title track, Gonna Die Tryin' has a Latin beat and great guitar tone under the lead vocals. Vitarello steps up with a real nice guitar solo on this track sticking with a blues fuesd latin feel. O'Leary breathes great power into his harp on this track giving it just the right spark. Slow blues track, Letters From Home, opens with a really soulful guitar solo from Vitarello riding on the back of of Katz's subtle organ work. O'Leary shows a variety of different vocal styles throughout this release. His powerful vocals earlier in the release are nicely matched here with super soulful phrasing. This is a powerful track that stands tall on this release of excellent tracks. The Devil Drove To Town In A V8 Ford is a rocking, country style track with flames. Vitarello really strings it out on this one with some lower fret work that hits hard. Nice pick up after the grinding blues number. The Machine has a really cool feel with alternating tom tom beat and double stopped guitar rhythm. Vitarello plays some really stinging guitar riffs under O'Leary's solid vocals with harp accents. Excellent! With it's shuffling lope, Walking Contradiction is the one track that just screams Chicago on this track and O'Leary milks it for all it's worth with his smoking harp work. Harvest Time rolls out a New Orleans style beat by Devlin and rolling piano from Katz. Warm backing vocals by Cabello and McCarthy along with slide guitar give the gumbo real spice. One More Saturday Night has a slick swing led by O'Leary on vocal and harp. Rock n roll riffs into the blues give the track great traction and Katz's organ work fills out the bill. Wrapping the release is funky, Tell It To Me Straight with Albert King like delivery. This is another of my favorite tracks with a slice of the best of everything. O'Leary's vocals are perfect, katz delivers a great organ solo, Vitarello plays it funky, backing vocals a strong and the band is in the groove...seriously! This is an excellent release!

   

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Vizztone Label Group artist: the Chris O'Leary Band - Live At Blues Now! - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Live At Blues Now! from the Chris O'Leary Band and it has a super groove. This release was recorded live in Basel, Switzerland in March of 2014. Opening with Give It, a one-chord modal blues structure with a repeating guitar figure and Diddley-style rhythm, O'Leary leads the way into this live set on vocal and harp. Joined by Chris Vitarello and Alex Schultz on guitar, Andy Stahl on tenor sax, Chris DiFrancesco on bari sax, Matt Raymond on bass and Jay Devlin on drums this band is tight. On jump track, Trouble, the band ramps it up with Schultz laying down some hot smokin' guitar work. O'Leary cranks it up as well with a mighty solo of his own. Very nice! Louisiana Woman has a swampy sound with a nice bass lead from Raymond. Cool shimmery guitar effects from Vitarello as well as a soulful guitar solo and the masterful harp work from O'Leary make this a really cool track. R&B style track Walk The Walk really invites the horn work of Stahl and DiFrancesco. A thick and juicy sax solo from Stahl and aggressive guitar work from Vitarello highlighted by the tight drumming of Devlin. Water's Risin' is a funky rocker with Vitarello and Schultz trading bluesy chicken pickin' style guitar solos. Billy Boy Arnold's I Wish You Would is a perfect showcase for O'Leary on harp. With solid sax work and complex drum rhythms this track has a life of it's own and even a little tribute to Lee Oscar. Mr. Used To Be has a western style blues swing but with sax instead of steel guitar giving it a totally different flavor. O'Leary lays down a real nice harp solo on this one proving to be a real crowd favorite. My favorite track on the release, Blues Is A Woman, slows it way down and O'Leary really does a hot job on lead vocal. Vitarello plays heavy T-Bone Walker stylized riffs making this track seven plus minutes particularly memorable with DiFrancesco and Stahl giving the track heft. Excellent! King of The Jungle has a real nice lope and with it's Chicago style, gives O'Leary a great chance to play his harp out. Vitarello lays in a few real nice riffs tying it all up. Tchoupitoulas has a real cool New Orleans sound and DiFrancesco really adds bottom. The sax work on this track is over the top and complimented with sly guitar riffs and marching drum style so I really do like it! Waiting For The Phone To Ring opens with some great bari sax and a great story telling style. Overlayed sax and guitar riffs make this one of my favorite tracks on the release. Wrapping the track is History, which has a great new Orleans funk feel. This is a groove that you have to love. Clocking in at 9 plus minutes, this is a New Orleans style lovers dream. Filled with excellent guitar, harp and sax work, this is a super way to wrap up a fine concert recording.

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Chris O'Leary - Live At BLUES NOW!

NEW FROM THE VIZZTONE LABEL GROUP

THE CHRIS O'LEARY BAND LIVE AT BLUES NOW!

click to preview or download from VizzTone.com

Recorded Live in Switzerland with special guest Alex Schultz

The VizzTone label group and Fidellis Records are proud to present the Chris O'Leary Band's new release, LIVE AT BLUES NOW!  Chris enthuses, "This special night was recorded earlier this year in Basel Switzerland with very special guest Alex Schultz! The room was beautiful, the crowd was great, and we had a blast!"     Chris O’Leary has put in his time on the front lines – as U.S. Marine Corps infantry squad leader, and seven years as singer, harp player, and front man for Levon Helm’s Barn Burners.  His two Fidellis Records/VizzTone label group releases, Mr. Used To Be (2010) and Waiting for the Phone to Ring (2012), established the Chris O’Leary Band as a major force in the blues world.  The recordings gleaned rave reviews, international airplay, a Blues Music Award nomination, and the Best New Artist CD Award at Chicago’s prestigious Blues Blast Awards.  Most of the band’s material consists of Chris’s original songs, known for their moving, funny, and incisive lyrics set on top of killer grooves.     The Chris O’Leary Band hail from New York’s musically-rich Hudson Valley, though their tours take them around the globe.  In March, 2014, the Chris O’Leary Band traveled to Basel, Switzerland to perform at the prestigious BLUES NOW! concert series.  Joining the band as a special guest was renowned blues guitarist Alex Schultz.  Schultz’s storied musical career includes long associations with blues harmonica players William Clarke, Rod Piazza, and Lester Butler, so his driving, swinging style was a perfect fit with the band.     As the band hit the BLUES NOW! stage, Chris and his band mates sweated out their incendiary blend of Chicago, Memphis, and New Orleans styles to the delight of the packed house.  They hit hard with original selections from their first two studio albums, as well as their own version of the Billy Boy Arnold classic, “I Wish You Would.”  There was the trademark interplay between O’Leary’s powerhouse harmonica, the fat-toned guitar, and the horn and rhythm sections with the added jolt of Schultz on second guitar.  The crowd responded wildly, as the band proceeded to tear the roof off that Swiss concert hall.  The resulting recording, The Chris O’Leary Band / Live at BLUES NOW! is a great live record in the best sense, with the musicians and the crowd energizing each other and producing music that is pure magic.     The Chis O’Leary Band features Chris O’Leary on vocals and harmonica, Chris Vitarello on guitar, Andy Stahl on tenor sax, Chris DiFrancesco on baritone sax, Matt Raymond on upright and electric bass, and Jay Devlin on drums.

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Shake That Boogie - Chris O'Leary Band

Chris’s musi­cal back­ground includes duties as lead singer and front man for rock and roll hall of famer and Grammy award win­ner Levon Helm’s band The Barn­burn­ers. Dur­ing the 6 years that Chris and Levon played together they toured across the US and Canada light­ing up stages every­where they went. Chris has appeared on stage with: Leg­endary Rolling Stones side­man Bobby Keys, The Fab­u­lous Thun­der­birds, Jimmy Vivino, Jeff Healy, Dan Akroyd, Albert Lee, Dave Edmunds, Dave Maxwell and the great James Cot­ton to name just a few. Chris has also recorded with Bill Perry and Hubert Sum­lin among others.

  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 favorite band!

Dress Blues - Chris O'Leary Band

Chris’s musi­cal back­ground includes duties as lead singer and front man for rock and roll hall of famer and Grammy award win­ner Levon Helm’s band The Barn­burn­ers. Dur­ing the 6 years that Chris and Levon played together they toured across the US and Canada light­ing up stages every­where they went. Chris has appeared on stage with: Leg­endary Rolling Stones side­man Bobby Keys, The Fab­u­lous Thun­der­birds, Jimmy Vivino, Jeff Healy, Dan Akroyd, Albert Lee, Dave Edmunds, Dave Maxwell and the great James Cot­ton to name just a few. Chris has also recorded with Bill Perry and Hubert Sum­lin among others. 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 favorite band!