The Last Music Company artist: Bill Kirchen - The Proper Years - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Proper Years, from Bill Kirchen and it's strong. I'm certain that most readers know Bill but if not, he was the guitar fingers of Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. That being known, you can expect that deep throaty telecaster guitar sound and rich country roots. Opening with Hammer of the Honky-Tonk  Gods, a swangin' country rocker with Kirchen on lead guitar and vocal, backed by Nick Lowe on bass, Geraint Watkins on bass, Austin de Lone on keys, Robert Trehorne on drums, Danny Levin on fiddle and Cindy Cashdoller and David Berzansky on steel guitar. Great opener. Working Man is a cool, country flavored track with solid 2 stepping beat. With great lead vocal and a really great bass background vocal among the others, this track is a standout. Remake of 60's pop hit, Devil In A Blue Dress, has a real bluesy feel with solid backing vocals by Sarah Carroll. Trish Anderson and Suzannah Espie. Kirchen puts on his best R&B vocal and slinky blues riffs. Acoustic rag, One More Day has a great light feel with stellar acoustic guitar riffs and fiddle (by Danny Levin). Excellent! A grungy rocker, Man in the Bottom of the Well features Elvis Costello and some really gritty guitar playing by Kirchen. This song is terrific! Commander Cody joins on I Don't Work That Cheap which is another terrific track with hints of Dylan and the Lost Planet Airmen. Very nice. On Disc 2, Kircher teams up with fleet fingered Dan Hicks on Word To The Wise. Cool lyrics, a great upbeat tempo and of course strong acoustic guitar riffs make for a great side 2 opener. Contemporary blues vocal legend, Maria Muldaur teams up with Kirchen on shuffle, Ain't Got No Time For the Blues. Breaking back to pure country and western on Tell Me The Reason. The is a great track with Kirchen on lead guitar and vocal, Jack O'Dell on drums and Paul Riley on bass and featuring Austin de Lone on piano. Really nice! Truck Stop At The End Of The World is a solid trucker song with classic Kirchen guitar riffs and a driving rock beat. Another classic and one from the Commander Cody songbook, Hot Rod Lincoln has great tempo and of course clever lyrics that accentuate the guitar riffs by Kirchen. Kirchen goes on to run classic country, Americana and rock riffs from the past. Cool flashback through music time. Country rocker, Oxblood has a really great feel with Butch Hancock on vocal with Kirchen who plays baritone guitar on this one. Balancing out the band is Gurf Morlix on guitar, David Carroll on bass, Rick Richards on drums and Austin de Lone on piano. Wrapping the release is Dylan's classic, The Times They Are A-Changin'. This is a complete album with few stones unturned. Well rounded with rock, Americana, blues and country, a lot of something for everyone.

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The Last Music Company: Dr. John - Ske-Dat-De-Dat, The Spirit Of Satch - New on vinyl

The Last Music Company has released Dr. John's tribute to Louis Armstrong, Ske-Dat-De-Dat, on vinyl on June 5, 2020. I had the opportunity to review this newest release and it's a lot of fun. Opening with What A Wonderful World, Dr John joins up with Nicholas Payton on trumpet and the Blind Boys of Alabama for a Mac stylized version of this Armstrong classic. Payton floats on the melodic rhythm and Mac's vocals are tops. Bonnie Raitt joins on I've Got The World On A String and an easy swing. Both Mac and Raitt seem very comfortable with excellent lead vocals, bluesy guitar riffs, clarinet and full horn backing. Very nice. In traditional Mac/New Orleans Jazz style, Gut Bucket Blues is one of my favorite tracks on the release, again featuring Payton on trumpet and with strong horn backing and some really tasty drumming. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child features Anthony Hamilton on lead vocal with smooth soulful backing and solid horn work. The McCrary Sisters and Ledisi do a totally spiritual version of Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen with powerful rich vocals, organ and strong piano work from Dr. John. Excellent! Mac is back up front on piano and vocal on Wrap Your Trouble in Dreams, joined by The Blind Boys of Alabama and Terrance Blanchard. This is a particularly cool track with Mac's classic New Orleans blues styling, blended with the warm gospel backing of BBA and the cool jazz styling of Blanchard on trumpet. Very cool. More traditional New Orleans style blues on Dippermouth Blues is a great track with Mac on lead vocal and piano and a super new Orleans beat. James 12 Andrews (Trombone Shorty) hits the trumpet on this one and it's another of my favorites. Shemekia Copeland contributes her own lush vocals to Sweet Hunk of Trash, a funky New Orleans number. With cool trombone work and tight drumming, another strong track. Easy jazz ballad, Memories of You features mac on lead vocal and piano but it's the terrific trumpet soloing of Arturo Sandoval that really sails this one. Sandoval plants himself and just wails. Excellent! Wrapping the release is a totally Dirty Dozen-ized When You're Smiling with a great tuba bottom and with excellent, trumpet led, march style jazz. Snappy percussion and mac on piano works really nicely with Mac's lead vocals. It's nice that Last Music has captured this on vinyl. Very cool. 

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The Last Music Co. artist: Jimmie Vaughan - Please Come Home - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Please Come Home, from Jimmie Vaughan and it's solid. Opening with Lloyd Price's R&B track, Baby, Please Come Home Vaughan has the mic and joined by George Rains on drums, Ronnie James on bass, Billy Pitman on rhythm guitar, Doug James on bari sax, Greg Piccolo on tenor sax, this band is rockin. On Lefty Frizzell's shuffle No One To Talk To (But The Blues), Vaughan's vocals are stellar and his guitar playing low slung and meaningful. Chuck Willis' What's Your Name? has a real great tempo and the steady drumming by Rains sets the tempo and James' sax work is fat and meaty. Very nice. Low slung, It's Love Baby (24 Hours A Day) has a real nice off beat pace and Vaughan's guitar lead answers the response nicely and his soloing with James' bari work is really nice. Fats Domino's So Glad has a great feel with hot sax work by James and Piccolo and I really like Vaughans unusual soloing techniques here setting the track off nicely. Wrapping the release is Jimmy Reed's Baby, What's Wrong with classic Reed tempo and sound. T. Jarrod Bonta joins on piano and randy Zimmerman is on trombone with Kaz Kazanoff on tenor sax, Al Gomez on trumpet, Jimmy Shortell on trumpet. Vaughan rocks this release and is pure to his style. 

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