VizzTone Label Group artist: Chris "Bad News" Barnes - Hokum Blues - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Hokum Blues, from Chris "Bad News" Barnes, and it's true to the old style 30's blues. Opening with Tampa Red's It Hurts Me Too, Barnes' vocals are solid with super slide work from Jimmy Vivino and Steve Guyer on harp, backed by Will Lee on bass, Shawn Pelton on drums and Bette Sussman on piano. Kicking it into swing mode and getting a little suggestive, Barnes struts Let Play With Your Poodle, featuring a real nice piano solo by Sussman and crisp guitar riffs by Vivino. Very nice. Prohibition style, I'm Gonna Get High, maintains a lot of the "prance" of the area and caller style vocals. Wild slide work on Bo Diddley rhythmed It's Tight Like That really gives this track a great presence. The Hokum Boys',You Can't Get Enough Of That Stuff, is one of my favorites on the release with cool vocal harmonies and easy going rhythm. With a Latin beat, Keep Your Mind On It has really nice percussion by Pelton and particularly nice guitar work by Vivino, topped off by cool piano twist by Sussman and a cool harp solo by Guyger. Another track with a pure 30's style, even a quasi megaphone sound, is Let Me Pat That Thing with it's suggestive yet funny lyrics. Another nice solo by Sussman on piano is topped off by cool trumpet work and a nice clarinet solo. A cool rocker by the Hokum Boys, Caught Him Doing It really has a nice rockabilly flair and strong solos by Vivino and Sussman. Closing with Tampa Red's Christmas and New Years, Barnes hits the spot on vocals and Vivino's slide work is thick and greasy. I cool closer for a nice retro style blues release.  

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Terra Blues - Steve Guyger,Louis X

Philadelphia is home to one of the finest blues harp players in the world, much to the surprise of people not "inside" the blues scene. Over the past thiry-plus years, Steve Guyger with his band, The Excellos, has been dishing out some of the finest blues to be heard anywhere. Steve has toured with the late Jimmy Rogers, among others, and has played with many of the great Chicago bluesmen and contemporary players, yet he remains one of the best kept secrets in blues. The late William Clarke called Steve "the best harp player I've ever seen." Mark Hummel called him "a monster player." If you have heard Steve play, you know what they're talking about. If you've never heard him, you're missing a major page in your blues portfolio.

Steve began playing harp back in the late 60's on a harmonica given to him by his future sister-in-law. Sometime later, his brother turned him on to Paul Butterfield. Steve's passion for the blues harp took him to Chicago to learn at the feet of the masters of the art. Each trip taught him skills that he brought back to the local bands in which he paid his dues. Steve has shared the stage with the greats in Chicago and the contemporary harp players touring the world today, names like Little Sammy Davis, Carey Bell, Rick Estrin, Rod Piazza, Kim Wilson, Mark Hummel, Charlie Musselwhite and many others. His playing, vocals, songwriting and stage presence have earned him a place among the best of the players on stage today.
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