Tim Bastmeyer's All Star Blues Band - New Release review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Tim Bastmeyer's All Star Blues Band and it's got a cool flavor. Opening with What The Woman Does To Me, Tim Bastmeyer on guitar and vocal sets the pace for his newest release with an easy country blues pace. Joined by Julian Fauth on piano, Paul Reddick on harmonica, Sean Pinchin on slide guitar, James Thomson on bass and Cam De Latt on drums, a nicely woven tapestry of acoustics. Northern Boogie Blues has an unusual time signature giving it a less expected resolution. With You is a modern style blues built over a Lonnie Chatmon style track. A cool wandering electric guitar lead by Bastmeyer is nicely complimented by the slide work of Pinchin and the lush bass work by Thomson. Love Turns To Pain has the most primitive blues sound with Pinchin on slide and Fauth on piano under Bastmeyer's classic vocal style and Reddick's harp. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Funky Ten, a light funky jazz tune with lead acoustic guitar melody. Fauth lays out a real nice piano lead and Pinchin isn't far behind with nicely executed slide soloing of his own. Very nice. Wrapping the release is Rough Night At The Office, a cool, laid back track with perfect pace and Lou Reed like feel. Airey piano soloing and a smooth bass solo give this track just the right feel for a smooth closer to a cool release.



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Stony Plain Records artist: Paul Reddick - Ride The One - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (May 20, 2016), Ride The One, from Paul Reddick and it has a unique sound. Opening with Shadows, based on a Bo Diddley beat it has a life of it's own with the wailing harp work of Reddick accompanying his own vocals and clear support work by Greg Cockerill, Steve Marriner and Colin Cripps on guitar, Anna Ruddick on bass and Derek Downham on drums. Celebrate is a driving blues rocker with a crisp beat and distorted vocals. With a lighter, more country approach, somewhat like JJ Cale, Mourning Dove has a haunting sound. Gotta Find A... has an easy coasting feel with nicely blended vocals. Guitar soloing is short and clean with more of a warm "music family" feel. It Goes With You has a chugging R&B feel. I think that this is my favorite track on the release with it's powerful stretched guitar work and vocal bridge. Very cool! Watersmooth is another track with an abstraction from Bo Diddley but this time instead of the guitar rhythm it's turned inside out and it's the vocal presentation with rhythm piano by Downham and a cool bass line by Ruddick. Very smart writing. Diamonds is an interesting composition with echoes of electronica but as stripped down and folk like as imaginable with a modern beat. Interesting. A flat out rocker, Living In Another World, is another of my favorites on the release with driving bass, and 3 guitar part rhythm under distorted vocals and a harp chorus. Breaking into a swing blues rocker, Reddick holds it all together with his vocal and harp styling. Very cool. Springy rocker, I Tried To Tell You, has a cool twist between the pop feel of Cheap Trick and the raw edge of the Black Keys. Lead harp work and vocals by Reddick work nicely to carry this track on a somewhat simple instrumental base. Love And Never Know is a nice R&B style track ... soft and smooth. Reddick's understated vocals work nicely to create a tension on this simple track. Very nice! Wrapping the release is Moon And Star, an interesting blues track with Reddick on vocal and harp. With only the most rudimentary of instrumentation, this is a very successful closer to a pretty interesting release.



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Stony Plain Records Signs Paul Reddick; Unofficial Canadian Blues Poet Laureate Is Ready to "Ride the One" on Label Debut CD Coming May 20

Stony Plain Records Signs Paul Reddick

Unofficial Canadian Blues Poet Laureate Is Ready to Ride the One on Label Debut CD Coming May 20

EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records has announced the signing of singer/songwriter/harmonica player Paul Reddick and will release his label debut CD, Ride the One, on May 20. Produced by Colin Cripps (Blue Rodeo) and recorded at Union Sound Company in Toronto, Ride the One showcases 11 all-original songs and includes a backing band that features special guest Steve Marriner of MonkeyJunk on guitar, keyboards and backing vocals. Reddick co-wrote three songs on the most recent highly-acclaimed MonkeyJunk album for Stony Plain, Moon Turn Red.

Ride the One is a musical reference to the hypnotic grooves explored on Paul Reddick's new release. Deep rhythm, intense singing and harp playing combine with his distinctive blues poetry. As Reddick puts it, “Blues is a beautiful landscape;” and he’s created this special atmospheric video to talk about his vision of the music: https://vimeo.com/92108801.

Reddick’s songs on Ride the One have a palpable sense of urgency, passion, energy and grit that transcend any usual categorizations of the blues. Its traditional blues themes of love, death and redemption are bonded by the crucible of rock-edged performances that clearly demonstrate why the idiom birthed the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll and other forms of roots music. 

For over 25 years, Paul Reddick has been melding poetry, mystery, darkness and light along with an extensive knowledge of the history and traditions of blues. An unofficial poet laureate of Canadian blues, Mojo Magazine praised his “wayward brilliance” in an earlier review. Reddick’s song, “I'm A Criminal,” was used by Coca-Cola in a TV commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.

“Ensuring the long-term health of blues in Canada has become a passion for Paul Reddick, and the motivation behind his creation of the Cobalt Prize, aimed at celebrating songwriting innovation within the form,” wrote Canadian music site FYI Music News in interview with the musician. 

“The singer/harmonica player has never forgotten he was once in that position when he formed The Sidemen in 1990, a band whose skillful balance of tradition and originality laid the foundation for a new crop of homegrown talent,” added the site.

One of those bands that picked up the torch was MonkeyJunk, who returned the favor of Reddick’s influence on them with member Steve Marriner’s participation on Ride the One, Reddick’s fourth solo album.

According to Reddick, his desire to sponsor the Cobalt Prize was “to encourage people to write blues songs – songs that expand, explore and refresh the blues tradition, to broaden the possibilities, assumptions and expectations and audience for the blues,” said Reddick in the interview. “In a lot of ways, Bob Dylan has always been a master at that, and if there were one song I wish I could have written, it would probably be ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’.”

www.paulreddick.ca                      www.stonyplainrecords.com