Eliza Neals: Badder To The Bone - New Release Review

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Badder To The Bone, from Eliza Neals and its a power blues rocker. Opening with United We Stand  with heavy tom tom's on a Bo Diddley beat by Jeffrey Fowlkes and slide guitar by Michel Puwal, Neals is on a roll. On slow blues, Queen of the Nile, Neals shows real soul on vocals, playing piano and taking names. Backed by Jason Kott on bass and Tim Grogan on drums, and featuring Lance Lopez laying down some excellent blues riffs on guitar and Peter Keys on B3, this is an excellent track. With a tango rhythm and nicely blended vocals, the stylistic guitar work of Puwal makes Bucket of Tears a real standout. Soulful, Heathen, drips with southern soul under the vocal control of Neals and with the thick B3 and piano work of John Gavin. Steve Winwood's Can't Find My Way Home is always great to hear and Neals puts her special touch on it with firm vocal lead and nice backing, topped with strong guitar lead work by Lopez. Wrapping the release is Queen of the Nile II, a foreshortened rip of the earlier track but still tasty and with excellent guitar riffs by Lopez. Excellent closer for a tasty release. 

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E-M Records artist: Eliza Neals - Sweet or Mean - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Sweet or Mean, from Eliza Neals and joined by guitar player/band leader Popa Chubby, it's a screamer. Opening with Pawn Shop Blues, a solid shuffle Neals picks up where she left off with her gritty vocals and Chubby with romping slide guitar, backed by Dave Keys on keys, Chris Gambari-Vega on bass, John Medeiros Jr. on drums and including Ian Hendrickson on sax and Michael Leonhart on trumpet. Rocker, Bitten By The Blues has solid radio feel with it's lightly Latin flavored rhythm and smooth melody with Chubby playing a rocking, Santana influenced guitar lead style. Livin With Yo Mama is a cool, slinky, boogie track with sassy vocals and some of my favorite guitar riffs on the release. Knock Knock Knockin is a pared down blues rocker with Chubby on acoustic guitar bringing Neals' farther forward in the mix vocally. Very nice. Wrapping the release is a slightly different mix on Pawn Shop Blues, a sweet closer for a solid blues rocker. 

  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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E-H Records artist: Eliza Neals - 10,000 Feet Below - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, 10000 Feet Below, by Eliza Neals and it's quite cool. Opening with a pop blues number, Cleotus, featuring Eliza Neals on vocal and Howard Glazer on guitar and slide. A cool opener with solid roots. On Another Lifetime, Glazer lays down a real nice guitar intro for a steamy blues ballad. Neals' vocals are strong and Glazer's guitar work is tight, backed by Skeeto Valdez on drums, Paul Randolph on bass solid keyboard work by Neals. On rocker, Burn The Tent Down, Glazer's guitar work is raspy and overdriven, nicely complimenting Neals vocals. On boogie style track, You Ain't My Dog No More, Brian Clune leads the way on drums with John Abraham on bass and with hot slide riffs by Glazer, delivers a hot number with a Thorogood flavor. Very cool. A solid pop entry, Cold Cold Night features Paul Nelson on guitar and nicely blended vocals not unlike Buckingham Nicks. Unbridled guitar playing is the ticket on Hard Killing Floor, an original Skip James track. With a contemporary blues rock styling and Neals' own organ and vocal treatment, this track stands tall. Downhill On A Rocket has a solid melody, warm vocal backing and slick slide guitar work from Glazer making it easily the radio leader on the release. Stripped down blues track, Merle Dixon, has a overdriven guitar vamp and guitar soloing juxtaposed against Neals' smoothly blended vocals. Very cool. Wrapping the release is At The Crossroads featuring Billy Davis on guitar and some really nice vocals by Neals. This is a really nice conclusion to a solid 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”

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Eliza Neals - Breaking And Entering - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Breaking and Entering, from Eliza Neals. Opening with Detroit Drive, a stripped down blues rocker featuring Neals on vocals and Howard Glazer on dobro and Eric Maluchnik on drums, Neals sets the tempo for this newest release. Title track, Breaking And Entering has a slow bluesy feel featuring Glazer laying down some heavy grinding electric guitar, Tim Grogan on drums, and Paul Randolph on bass. Neals' vocals are soulful and silky smooth, gritty and everything in between. Jekyll And A Hound is a radio style track featuring Neals on vocal and Rhodes piano with a catchy melody and some particularly cool guitar riffs from Mike Puwal. Goo Goo Glass has a cool rock groove and cool slide work from Glazer. Gabe Gonzales hits the drums and Paul Randolph lays down a nice bass line. Another strong radio track, You, features a particularly nice melody and lead guitar from Kenny Olson. Pretty Gritty is a snappy rocker featuring Neals on lead vocal, piano and B3. With a light power pop reference I want to say think Veruca Salt. Puwal rips a pretty nice guitar solo icing this one. Southern Comfort has a bit of a blended R&B country sound with angelic vocal backing and whirling guitar work from Olson. Windshield Wipers is another track with strong radio characteristics. I really like the guitar phrasing by Glazer and Neals' vocal blending. Sugar Daddy has an early R&B rock feel. With Tyrone Smith on organ and sax, Chris Vega on bass, Shane Visbal on guitar and Michael Galante on drums, this is my favorite track on the release. I'm The Girl is a straight forward pop rocker with some funky guitar work from Puwal. Spinning has a real nice heavy saturated guitar intro by Glazer and Neals vocals are gritty and solid. Wrapping the release is a radio edit version of the earlier 7 minute version of the title track. Nice conclusion to this 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”

 

messin with a fool - Eliza Neals - New Release Review

I just received a new release by Eliza Neals, messin with a fool, and it has a definite, contemporary sound. The first thing that I like about it is that i can't really categorize it. It's a good sign that it doesn't sound like everything else (or a certain body of works). The recording opens with Misery, a R&B style track with with a 50's vibe. Tino Gross throws out a cool guitar riff on this track too! Neals has a voice comparable in quality with Bonnie Raitt but with stylistic approaches that are more power pop or punk. It sounds fresh and not overused. Man's Man is a simple stripped down rock song with bluesy singing but keeping it's edge. Lets say the Yeah Yeah Yeah's sing Stax. ESP is a cool track and the vocals are smoother and really lean toward soul and Bonnie Bramlett. The arrangement of the music remains uneven and interesting as opposed to predictable. Rather Go To Jail has a cool Latin feel but is more stylistic than bluesy. Rainin in Detroit is a solid blues ballad with phrasing that puts me in mind of Ricki Lee Jones but with a totally original voice an really nice guitar riff by Mike Smith to set off the vocals. Coming out of the gates on Berry Gordy's Money, Neals sounds terrific showing her vocal quality not unlike Brode Dalle on a classic track. I really like the sound of Neals voice on PiG (and I really like the overdriven sound of the basic guitar that accompanies her). The cd wraps with a simple ballad, Love Hurts More, over primarily acoustic guitar. This is a real strong track and a nice selection to complete an unusually cool cd.

If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”