Ruf Records artist: Ghalia - Mississippi Blend - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Mississippi Blend, from Ghalia and it's got great attitude and style. Opening with, Gypsy Lady, a blues based track with a rockin beat, Brussels born Ghalia (Vauthier) Volt shows her understanding of real blues with it's raw feeling and emotion. Leading on vocal and slide guitar Volt has a lot of help from Lightnin' Malcolm on lead guitar, Dean Zucchero on bass and Cedric Burnside on drums. Easing into a swampy blues number, Meet You Down The Road has the kind of rawness you'd expect from the hill country with Watermelon Slim on harp, Smokehouse Brown on lead and slide guitar, Zucchero on bass and Burnside on drums. The dual slide guitar sound is intoxicating under her soulful vocals and the tight rhythms are perfectly punctuated by Burnside. Very cool. I really like heavy footed blues rocker, First Time I Died. It has real kick. Volt focuses on vocals and does a great job with excellent timing by Cody Dickinson on drums and a raw lead guitar by Brown. Excellent! Traditional song, Wade In The Water has a real nice spin with Volt and Watermelon Slim on lead vocal and Lightnin' Malcolm on lead guitar. Another real cool track is Shake & Repeat with a underscored boogie beat and super raw slide work by Volt. Additional lead vocal by Malcolm  and lead guitar by Brown give this track a nice edge. Super boogie, Why Don't You Sell Your Children starts off with a slower JLH style but ramps up to a full rocking boogie with Volt and Brown grinding the guitar and Volts sensuous vocals balancing the track. Very nice. Wrapping the release is I Thought I Told You Not To Tell Them, is a flat out rock 'n' roller with Berry style guitar riffs by Malcolm and Brown and the tight tight bottom by Zucchero and Dickinson. Excellent closer for a really cool release.

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Ruf Records artist: Samantha Fish - Belle Of The West - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Belle Of The West, from Samantha Fish and it may be her best effort yet. Opening with American Dream you have an immediate sense that this isn't a typical Samantha Fish release. Produced by Luther Dickinson, this release is in a whole new strata. Laden with fife and drums by Sharde Thomas, and with Trina Raimey and Tikyra Jackson on drums, this track has a distinct Mississippi feel. Blood In The Water showcases Fish's lead vocal and harmonies with Amy LaVere who also plays bass. A swampy track with sparse but distinct guitar work and eerie violin work by Lillie Mae, this is a cool track. Cowtown has a distinct country sound with a certain blues flavor. Addition of Fender Rhodes by Jimbo Mathus gives a nice texture and Fish sounds more comfortable both vocally and with guitar work in this "new" style. I also really like the heaviness of the drums on this track which really punch it right. Very nice. Don't Say You Love Me may be my favorite track on the release with absolute sassy vocal sound. I really love the guitar tone on this one too...excellent! Title track, Belle Of The West is a terrific, country (real country) TexMex flavored track with deep roots. I am hesitant to give Dickinson credit for someone else's work, but when he touches something he can bring out the best in people and whatever caused it, this is really good! RL Burnside's Poor Black Mattie is another terrific track with vocals shared with LM. Keeping the Mississippi sound, adding harmonica, and mandolin, really deep. No Angels balances between pop and country blues maintaining it's solid roots and developing a solid boogie. Vocal duet with Lillie Mae, Nearing Home is a warm blues ballad with healthy country roots. It's hard to describe, but easy to listen to. Very nice. Wrapping the release is Gone For Good, a primarily acoustic foot stomper with rhythmic guitar, slide and light percussion under soulful vocals by Fish. I really like this release and suggest you get this one for your permanent collection.

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Don't miss the FREE Bukka White Blues Festival​ next weekend, October 16th & 17th!

Don't miss the FREE Bukka White Blues Festival next weekend, October 16th & 17th! Held in Aberdeen, Mississippi at the beautiful Blue Bluff Recreation Area on Lock & Dam Road along the banks of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Enjoy live Mississippi Blues including Kenny Brown, Big George Brock, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Lightnin Malcolm, Duwayne Burnside, Bill "Howlin' Mad" Perry & many more!  Enter the Ribs on the River Barbecue Rib Contest with over $2,500 in prizes! Plenty of kids activities including a petting zoo, bounce houses and an animal show featuring animals of the rain forest!  Rent a kayak or dock your boat!  Enter your pet in the Rover on the River Pet Costume Parade!  Arts & Crafts / Informational Booth applications still accepted! Beautiful Mississippi October blue skies on green grass! Coolers Allowed! Website

Document Records - Blues, Blues Christmas Volume 3 - New release Review

I just received the newest release, Blues, Blues Christmas Volume 3 and it's a lot of fun! Led Belly opens with Christmas Is Coming, a rudimentary Led Belly chant blues followed by Rev JM Gates in a rousing Gettin' Ready For Christmas. Victoria Spivey does a great job on I Ain't Gonna Let You See My Santa Claus, a great blues number. John Lee Hooker sings and plays Blues For Christmas in great style and it goes without saying that his older work stand strongly on it's own merit. Johnny Hooks plays a nice sax part on this track as well. Dee Dee Ford does a cool shuffle number, Good Morning Blues. On The Penguins, Jingle Jangle, Christmas and the blues sees a rhumba beat. One of my favorite tracks on the first cd of this two cd release is The Magnolia Five singing a solid early gospel/ field call version of The Holy Baby (acapella). The Famous Jubilee Singers do a straight up gospel rendition of Go Tell It On The Mountain which of course is a strong stand alone tune. Cordell Jackson does Rock And Roll Christmas, an early rock a billy style track with time appropriate steel guitar. Coy McDaniel & Shorty Warren do a country (real country) track Christmas Choo Choo Train. This is a fun little track with nice vocal harmonies and simple accompaniment and soloing. The Davies Sisters sing the Christmas Boogie, catching a real super groove and impeccable vocal harmonies. Thelma Cooper belts out I Need A Man, a swing blues track. Another of the best tracks on disc one, has a super sax solo by an unidentified sax player. Jimmy McCracklin steps up with a more modern blues cut, Christmas Time Part 1. Wiley Kizart plays a real sweet sax solo on this track backing McCracklin's vocals. Bumble Bee Slim does a classical blues interpretation of Santa Claus Bring Me A new Woman. This is one of thise blues tracks that you would just say was good blues if you never heard the words. Nice construction and execution. Ella Fitzgerald joins Louis Jordan for the big band ballad track Baby It's Cold Outside. Of course the vocals are flawless. Amos Milburn does his standard piano shuffle blues on Christmas (Comes Once A Year). This is a cool track on it's own as well with Milburn not only right on with his vocals but also on keys. Freddy King steps up with classic Christmas Tears and does what Freddy does best, call and response with his own vocal and guitar. Terrific. Another country song, this time with a Texas Swing, Jo Poovey and the Big "D" Boys deliver on Santa's Helper. Cajun style Fiddlin' John Carson gets your feet tappin on Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over. Wrapping the first disc is Wardell Gray with the Dexter Gordon Quintet and Jingle Jangle Jump, another big band swing track. Disc 2 opens with classic Lightnin' Hopkins and Santa Claus, my favorite track on the release. Hopkins has a special style and this is it. Jimmy McCracklin is back with Christmas Time 2 and a cool easy swing blues and another thundering sax solo from Kizart. Hop Wilson accompanied by Elmore Nixon with great piano sings a smokin blues track, Merry Christmas Darling, also adding some cool slide. Duke Ellington Orchestra does a classic instrumental of the Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy. Really smooth. Ozie Ware joining Ellington's Hot Five sings a super blues vamp, Santa Claus, Bring My Man Back,  followed by Barney Bigard on clarinet and Freddie Jenkins on trumpet. Rev. Rice's Sanctified Singers does a revival style Who Do You Call That Wonderful Counselor. Spartanburg Famous Four do a really solid acapella, Go Where I Send Thee. Super! The Ravens perform a very classic and straight up version of Silent Night for the traditionalists. The Youngsters sing a playful Christmas In Jail, a light hearted sing track. The Jackson Trio really rock out with Jingle Bell Hop, a blend between rock and new Orleans jazz. Very cool instrumental track. Cordell Jackson rocks the joint with Be-Boppers Christmas. Vernon Dalhart sings a very period piece in Santa Claus That's Me. This is a clever UK based track with simple accompaniment and fiddle. Lil McClintock has a driving country blues style on Don't Think I'm Santa Claus with only simple acoustic guitar and vocal. Walter Davis does a nice piano blues, New "Santa Claus" and his vocals are gripping. Very nice. BB King rolls out is the kings typical with full orchestra on Christmas Celebration but of course adds some tasty guitar riffs to his already super vocals. The Larks do big band swing Christmas To New Years. The Five Keys do 50'S style ballad on It's Christmas Time, a strong vocal harmony track. Oscar McLolli and His Honey Jumpers roll out a really swinging blues track, Dig That Crazy Santa Claus and the title tells a lot. Done in a light hearted manner, this track is a super choice to begin the wrap up of this set. Billy Ward And His Dominoes perform a multivoice Ringing In A Brand New Year. Last up is Ella Fitzgerald singing the ballad, The Secret Of Christmas. Fitzgerald has always been one of the benchmarks for vocalists and she does a super job here.

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Shakedown Records artist: Lightnin Malcolm - Rough Out There - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (September 10, 2013), Rough Out There, by Lightning Malcolm and its really quite interesting. Opening with Workin, Malcolm sticks close to his North Mississippi roots and the sounds of the hill country blues. With a raw attack and melodic slide playing along with the melody of the track, Malcolm captures the essence of this genre. Very cool. On My Life's A Wreck, Malcolm stays with the stripped down simplicity on a uptempo blues rocker. An updated John lee Hooker like chant makes this a top track on the release. Dellareesa has an island feel to it with a happy melody and backing horns. Reality Check digs in with some heavy guitar work before breaking into a reggae romp. Malcolm has a smooth feel for the natural meter of the track. Cool guitar work on this track with whammy and single line soloing make this track particularly effective. So Much Trouble is another really cool blues track with a basic blues guitar drone under the melodic chant. A particularly cool effect on guitar chords sets the track off nicely. Easily one of my favorites. Rough Out There takes a different twist with a hip hop beat and more melodic singing and structure. Not much of a hip hop guy but this is a cool track with solid writing making a strong link to the blues. Took Too Long has the contemporary stripped down blues sound that has become fairly popular with bands like the Stripes and the Keys. This doesn't at all sound like a copy but especially with the effect of his guitar playing and vocals has a real sense of authenticity. Givin You Away is a real straight up country song with no pretense. Really nice and also features cool slide work from Luther Dickinson. Chiefs is a rhythm driven track with tom tom like drumming and crude melodic guitar playing conjuring images of very early America. On Young Woman, Old fashioned Ways, Malcolm keeps the top simple with basic drumming and extended unpolished slide work and an Otis Rush like riff but uses a rock beat to deliver the word. Very cool. Mama, another cool laid back hip hop/reggae style track still oozes blues backed by David McKnight on sax and Mark Oran on trumpet. Stomp Yo Feet, Clap Yo Hands has a real R&B /Gospel feel like Bobby Blues Bland with Luther Dickinson pushing the slide. This is one that's bound to get you on your feet. How Blessed You Are breaks back to a solid hip hop feel. With a little rap blended in, I'm not certain how many cross over fans there are but Malcolm does a really nice job of showing how all of the different phases of music all work together.

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