Sandy Key Music artist: Jim Allchin - Prime Blues - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Prime Blues, from Jim Allchin and it's quite good. Allchin, who is releasing his 4th studio release is really honing in on the perfect sound for him. Opening with R&B flavored blues number, Give It Up, featuring Allchin on lead vocal and guitar, peppered with punchy horn work by the Memphis Horns (Charles Rose, Jim Hoke, Steve Hermann and Doug Moffet). Allchin has really honed his tone and his chops have always been super. His backing band is tops with Bob Britt, Rob McNelley  and Kenny Greenberg on rhythm guitar, Tom Hambridge on drums, Glenn Worf on bass, Mycle Wastman on backing vocals and Kevin McKendree on keys. Strutting, Devil Don't Sleep really has a great feel with excellent lead work by Allchin and heavy B3 by McKendree. Jimmy's Boogie is a high energy boogie with a solid bass line by Worf and terrific piano work by McKendree over the tight drums of Hambridge giving Allchin free rein to play. Excellent! Mike Zito guests on lead vocal on Enough is Enough and the track has a hard driving country rock feel. Very nice! Solid shuffle, Found The Blues really finds Allchin in the slot with terrific lead lines and sounding really comfortable on lead vocal. B3 soloing by McKendree adds real beef to the track making it one of my favorites. Bobby Rush steps up on harp and vocal on Two Bad Dreams, a slow blues number with rich horn work by the Memphis Horns. Allchin digs deep showing real blues chops giving this track a stiff edge. Wrapping the release is cool, Albert King flavored, Logoff, with a cool Latin rhythm and stinging guitar riffs. Allchin has really learned to temper his vocals with style and warm backing vocals and electric piano by McKendree adds real spice to this solid closer. Very cool. 

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Catfood Records artist: Dave Keller - Every Soul's A Star - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Every Soul's A Star, from Dave Keller and it's a solid R&B entry. Opening with Don't Let Them Take Your Joy, a poppy R&B track, Dave Keller leads a super band on vocal and guitar with excellent backing from Bob Trenchard on bass, Johnny McGhee on guitar, Dan Ferguson on keys, Richy Puga on drums, Mike Middleton on trumpet and Nick Flood on sax. Solid opener. On title track, Every Soul's A Star, a warm horn intro leads the way for Keller's soulful vocals and nice backing vocals by Janelle Thompson and Shakara Weston. Digging down into the funk, Ronnie Shannon's Baby, I Love You has a great sound. I really love Aretha's version of this, but I really like this one as well with a slower, more powerful bottom and bluesy guitar riffs. Very cool. Another solid R&B track, Freedom Is Ours is another solid vocal track which benefits nicely from the horn work of Middleton and Flood. Up-tempo, It's All In Your Eyes, has a great melody with just the right organ underpinning supporting super vocals and effortless guitar soloing by Keller. Soul track, When Are You Gonna Cry is one of my release favorites with a particularly memorable melody, strong vocals by Keller and nicely phrased guitar riffs and horn punctuation punching the track up. Wrapping the release is Ain't Giving In with a fusion of funk and R&B with a strong melody and balanced vocals and horns, with snappy percussion. Very nice. 

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Reference Recordings artist: Fiona Boyes - Voodoo in the Shadows - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Voodoo in the Shadows, from Fiona Boyes. Opening with dark, smoky Call Their Name, Boyes, with her swampy guitar rhythms and solid vocals leads the way backed by Tim Neal on keys, Mark Grunden on drums and Johnny Sansone on harp. On What You Put On Me, the band sets a Mississippi hill country pace with Sansone wailing away on harp and Boyes laying out some prime cigar box slide work. Very nice. On Latin flavored, Dark and Dangerous Love shows a different side of Boyes with dark, a seductive melody, steamy vocals and smooth guitar lead. Neal adds some real nice sax backing in addition to a hot organ solo and Grunden's conga playing really spices it up. New Orleans has a nice bluesy feel with great piano work by Neal. R&B roots fuel With A Little Respect. Neal steps up with another nice sax solo and melodic harp work by Sansone adds just the right tough to Boyes vocal efforts. Wrapping the release is another R&B track, Ember, with the most straight forward melody. Boyes' vocals are really nice and her guitar lead is tight, warmed nicely by the organ efforts of Neal. This is a nice closer for a real solid release.

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American Showplace Music artist: Sean Chambers - Welcome To My Blues - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Welcome To My Blues, from Sean Chambers and it's meaty. Opening with flamboyant blues rocker, and title track, Welcome To My Blues, guitar player/songwriter/guitarist, Chambers lets it fly with solid vocals and ripping blues rock riffs, joined by John Ginty on keys, Moe Watson on drums and Todd Cook on bass. Great opener. My absolute favorite track on the release, Black Eyed Susie, has a super swagger thanks to Chambers' strong vocals and Watson's heavy drum work. Jimmy Bennett's slide guitar work on this track is super, the track actually reminding me a lot of a terrific track written by Jackie Lynton for Savoy Brown in the early 70's. Luther Allison's Cherry Red Wine is an absolute screamer with some of Chambers' most fiery riffs on the release. If you don't like this, you probably don't like contemporary blues...at all! Excellent! Backbeat shuffle, Cry On Me, has a great feel with Freddie King like poise. Very cool. On One More Night To Ride, Chambers' emphasis is on funky wah wah driven rhythm and free wheeling soloing. Very nice. Again on Red Hot Mama the slide is hot and slashing. With a straight up rock beat, this track has a great feel and never sounds like a Duane Allman clone. Very nice. Another great blues track, All Night Long, has just the perfect level of suspense, enhanced by the organ work of Ginty. Chambers' vocals are great and his guitar phrasing is particularly excellent. Wrapping the release is guitar ballad, Riviera Blue, with a really nicely poised guitar melody. Wel managed piano work by Ginty supports Chambers, intricate guitar soloing but never gets in the way. Masterful.

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The Wildcat O'Halloran Band - New York City Chill - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, New York City Chill, from The Wildcat O'Halloran Band and it's cool. Opening with jazz/blues rocker, Van Wyck Expressway the band lays down a real nice instrumental groove. Featuring O'Halloran with strong guitar and sax exchanges with Emily Duff over a solid rhythm section of Mark Chouinard and Kathy Peterson, this is a super opener. With a bit of sizzle, Can't Get It Like That is a romping shuffle with fluid guitar riffs and a driving rhythm.  To really get you up and moving, Cookin' Mama has a funky beat and harp by Wally Greeney leading to some fat fat slide work by Wildcat. Very nice. Louis Jordan's classic jump track, Saturday Night Fish Fry is up next and the band is having a blast with nice horn work by Duff. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Dumb with it's funky rhythm, fiery guitar work and peppery harp. On Muddy Waters' Don't Go No Further, Wildcat is alone on guitar and vocal showing his solo skill and it's solid. Wrapping the release is Waiting Awhile, a rumbling boogie. With poised harp attack and typical Wildcat guitar slaying, they wrap the release in style.

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Blues Legend Jody Williams: February 3, 1935 -- December 1, 2018

  JODY WILLIAMS: FEBRUARY 3, 1935 - DECEMBER 1, 2018

photo by Dan Machnik

Famed Chicago blues guitarist/vocalist and Blues Hall Of Fame member Jody Williams, who recorded with legends including Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Spann and his childhood friend Bo Diddley, as well as under his own name, died of cancer at the Munster Med Inn in Munster, Indiana on December 1, 2018. He lived in nearby St. John, Indiana. He was 83.

One of the last and most accomplished practitioners of the golden 1950s era of Chicago blues, Williams was well-known for his instantly recognizable stinging guitar tone, a keen vibrato and a sensibility that straddled the turf between gutbucket blues, sophisticated jazzy West Coast stylings and even vintage rockabilly, along with solid vocals and thoughtful songwriting. His often-replicated guitar parts were crucial to some of the most iconic songs of the genre, including on Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love and I’m Bad, Howlin’ Wolf’s Evil and Forty Four, Billy Boy Arnold’s I Wish You Would and I Ain’t Got You, and Sonny Boy Williamson’s Don’t Start Me Talking.

Joseph Leon (Jody) Williams was born in Mobile, Alabama on February 3, 1935 and moved to Chicago around age five. After he began exploring music on harmonica and jaw harp, he met Ellas McDaniel (the future Bo Diddley) at a talent show. Bo taught him an open guitar tuning and they began working the streets together in 1951. Williams began playing clubs at age 17 and went on to record under his own name (including his influential instrumental anthem Lucky Lou). Williams was the first Chicago blues guitarist to master B.B. King’s stringbending-based approach and influenced the young modernists of the day such as Otis Rush and Buddy Guy. He served for years as the house guitarist at Chess Records and backed a varied list of artists including Jimmy Witherspoon, Floyd Dixon, Dale Hawkins and Bobby Charles. He played on Buddy Morrow’s big band version of Rib Joint, and dueled with B.B. King on an Otis Spann 45 for the Checker label. He also played on multiple rock ‘n’ roll package tours. In 1958 he was called to the army, serving his tour of duty in Germany. Returning to Chicago, Williams studied computers and engineering. He left the music business in the 1960s.

Williams returned to public performance in 2000. Focusing on being a band leader and songwriter, Williams recorded two very well-received CDs of predominantly original material, 2002’s Return Of A Legend and 2004's You Left Me In the Dark, both for Evidence Records. Living Blues said, "Williams is a modern-day standard bearer for a still-vital style that continues to impress, exhilarate and inspire fifty years after he first helped create it." The success of the CDs led him to play festivals all over the country in addition to dates overseas. He was inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame in Memphis in 2013 and into the Chicago Blues Hall Of Fame in 2015.

Williams is survived by his wife Jeanne Hadenfelt, his daughters Marilyn Murphy and Sissy Williams, sons Anthony and Jason Williams, grandchildren Justin, Noel, Joseph, Joshua, River and Ethan Williams and Gerold Murphy, and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Sunday, December 9
Leak & Sons Funeral Home, 7838 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago, IL

2:00PM - Wake

3:00PM - Service

VizzTone Label Group artist: Bob Margolin - Self Titled - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent self titled release by Bob Margolin and it's all Margolin playing, singing, producing and recording every note himself. Opening with One More Day, a stripped down blues rocker, Margolin drives the train and blows the whistle with solid vocals and stylistic guitar soloing. Instrumental track, Detroit showcases not only Margolin's solid song writing but also his command of the slide guitar. Very nice. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Muddy Waters like, Mercy with it's gritty delta sound and signature slide guitar sound. Leroy Carr's Blues Before Sunrise is up next with Margolin's own soulful wailing over nicely executed blues rudiments. Snooky Pryor's boogie,  Peace of Mind, is up next with some classic slide playing by Margolin backed by simple rhythm and drums. Jimmy Rogers' classic, Going Away Baby is another of my favorites with a perfect boogie pace and nicely articulated guitar lines by Margolin. Wrapping the release is James Cotton's One More Mile and some of Margolin's best vocals working nicely with some minor key changes giving the track a haunting feel. Very nice closer to a solid release. 

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Khalif Wailin' Walter - Nothin' Left To Lose - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Nothin' Left To Lose, from Khalif Wailin' Walter and it's aggressive. I love it when an artist takes the threads of music and weaves a fabric all their own and Walter is doing this in a big way. Opening with Reign Down Fire, Walter works a basic blues groove with finger picked blues lines, a deep bass line by Danie Hopf and drums by Daniel Grzelak complimenting his own rich vocals a wailing electric guitar soloing. This is really quite simple yet remarkable. Sliding into a simple R&B track, I've Made A Change with Matt Shevitz and Juergen Wiechin on sax, Walter shows he is just as comfortable laying down a simple pop tune. You like reggae, we got, Why Did I Do It, with hot blues guitar riffs tugging all the way. Very nice. Straight down BB King highway with a blues shuffle, One Last Nerve, Walter hits the blues straight on with his personal blues riff attacks. One of my favorite tracks on the release is slow blues number, Worries, Worries, Worries with edgy vocal tension, nicely controlled drumming by Grzelak, Jacelak Prokopowitz on keys and soulful guitar runs that make you sit up and listen. Very nice. Wrapping the release is R&B track, Can You Feel My Groove with funky guitar rhythm and balanced keyboard work by Prokoplwitz with smooth vocals and a memorable melody making for a solid closer. 

  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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Black Hen Music artist: Kat Danser - Goin' Gone - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Goin' Gone, from Kat Danser and I really like it. Opening with title track, Goin' Gone, Danser who leads on vocals and guitar has a thick bluesy/country style and has surrounded herself with a tight group of musicians including Steve Dawson guitar and pedal steel, Jeremy Holmes on bass and mandolin, Gary Craig on drums, Jim Hoke on harmonica and sax and Matt Combs on fiddle and mandolin. Voodoo Groove delves even into a country style with healthy guitar riffs and rich vocals. Dawson gets the pedal steel wound up on Memphis Tennessee with light harmonica soloing by Hoke. Danser's vocals are consistently solid track to track and the release is nicely balanced. Sam McGhee's Chevrolet Car has a cool blend of country and blues with country style fiddling by Combs and powerful vocals by Danser over tight drum rhythms by Craig. Haunting slide work by Dawson on Mississippi Fred MacDowell's Train I Ride gives it a special amount of pepper over the sassy vocals of Danser. This track has great feel and spaciousness. Very cool. Wrapping the release is easy paced, Time For Me To Go with only acoustic guitar, light electric guitar, bass and brush drums supporting Danser's vocals as she winds down. This is a very cool release with crisp energy and solid melodies.

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Bloodshot Records Signs Jason Hawk Harris

Photo credit: Daley Hake (download) Full-Length Debut To Be Announced Soon Bloodshot Records is excited to announce the signing of Houston, TX-raised/Los Angeles-based artist Jason Hawk Harris. The singer/guitarist – formerly of LA-based indie outfit The Show Ponies – self-describes his sound as "meta-apocalyptic country/Americana grief-grass," a tongue-in-cheek amalgam combining his background in music composition education, impassioned song content, and the influence of growing up listening to traditional country, folk and rock singers. In 2017, Harris released his first solo effort, a five-song EP Formaldehyde, Tobacco and Tulips, and has been on the road in support of or writing its follow-up ever since. Bloodshot first caught him at Folk Alliance in 2018, when he gave goosebumps to everyone within the dingy walls of a tiny hotel room with his evocative, powerful, and unrestrained live duo set. Later in the year, he opened up for our Sarah Shook & the Disarmers on a run of tour dates, after which Sarah relayed her wholehearted approval. JHH will release his full-length debut with Bloodshot in 2019. Video for “I’m Afraid”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRvdKiX_mmY

John Mayall to Release New CD Featuring Todd Rundren, Joe Bonamassa, Little Steven Van Zandt & Alex LIfeson

Blues Hall of Fame Member John Mayall Announces New Album, Nobody Told Me Featuring Todd Rundgren, Little Steven Van Zandt, Alex Lifeson and Joe Bonamassa.

On February 22nd Forty Below Records will release Nobody Told Me, the new studio album from The Godfather of British Blues, John Mayall. As with his last handful of albums, Mayall again shares production duties with Forty Below Founder Eric Corne who also handles engineering and mixing duties. The album boasts an impressive and diverse list of guest guitarists, all personal favorites of Mayall’s including Todd Rundgren, Little Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band, Alex Lifeson from Rush, Joe Bonamassa, Larry McCray and Carolyn Wonderland who will be joining the band on tour. Also, on hand are Mayall’s dynamic Chicago rhythm section of Greg Rzab on bass guitar and Jay Davenport on drums, along with Billy Watts (Lucinda Williams) on rhythm guitar and Mayall’s regular horn section, moonlighting from their day job in The Late Show with Conan O’Brien’s house band. The album was recorded at The Foo Fighters’ Studio 606 on the same legendary Sound City Neve console his one-time protégés from Fleetwood Mac used to record parts of the best-selling Rumours album. “This project has been a true labor of love for me and I can’t wait for people to hear the fireworks that took place,” beams Mayall. Nobody Told Me is an apt title for the blues icon who suffered a recent unexpected health scare shortly after recording the album. But, the seemingly ageless road dog, who famously takes no days off and carries his own gear on tour, has been given a clean bill of health and plans to return to his usual grueling touring schedule to support the release. Tour dates can be found at johnmayall.com

Sugaray Rayford Delivers Vintage Soul & Blues on New Release

Sugaray Rayford Brings Vintage Soul Vibe to New Album Somebody Save Me out on Forty Below Records, March 1st

On March 1st, Forty Below Records will release Somebody Save Me, the new studio album from soul blues singer, Sugaray Rayford. On the album’s opening track, “The Revelator”, Rayford forcefully sings, “I’m a freak of nature / I ain’t no honey bee / I’m an unknown creature / The like you’ve never seen” At 6’5” and 300 pounds, this cigar chompin’ ex-Marine with a voice like a force of nature holds court in any room he enters. Possessing a magnetic personality, and an old school vocal style that echoes Muddy Waters, Otis Redding and Teddy Pendergrass, Rayford is also a stellar dancer with moves reminiscent of the Legendary James Brown.   Somebody Save Me is an ambitious album that slides gracefully between the new blues of Gary Clarke Jr. and Fantastic Negrito, the rock & soul stylings of The War & Treaty, and the vintage Daptone vibe of the late Charles Bradley and Sharon Jones, bringing a fresh take to classic sounds.   The album was written and produced by Forty Below Records founder Eric Corne. Best known for his work with blues legends John Mayall and Walter Trout, Corne and Forty Below have also launched the careers of several talented new artists, such as Sam Morrow, Jaime Wyatt and KaiL Baxley. A number of mainstays from Corne productions feature strongly here including guitarist Rick Holmstrom (Mavis Staples), bassist Taras Prodaniuk (Dwight Yoakam), drummer Matt Tecu (Jakob Dylan), keyboardist Sasha Smith (Sam Beam), guitarist Eamon Ryland (The Happy Mondays) and the horn section from Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Corne recorded the bulk of the record live and the chemistry of the performances infuses the songs with a spontaneity and raw emotion.   The ten songs on the album explore contrasting themes of darkness and light. There is social commentary like on “Time to get Movin’” “The mansions on the hillside / Look down on homeless camps / While we’re caught in the crossfire / Lookin’ for the exit ramps.” There are several love songs, including two gorgeous soul ballads, “My Cards are on the Table” and “Somebody Save Me”, the Stax inspired “You and I” and the more Motown leaning “Is it Just Me”, “She could bring peace / To the Middle East / They'd be ready to sign / Free the worst villain / From the tightest prison / And have the warden waving goodbye.”   The album is full of inspired arrangements with several unexpected twists and turns; like the John Barry (James Bond) inspired bridge of “Angels and Devils”; the wobbly 1950’s inspired keyboard solo and lush strings of the title tracks, recorded with The Section Quartet (Ryan Adams, Father John Misty); and the gospel choir, shape-shifting keyboards and dramatic horns of “The Revelator” which seamlessly blends blues, soul and jazz with a hint of reggae. But at the center of it all is Sugaray Rayford’s commanding voice, tying it all together.   With his 8-piee crack band and personal charm, Rayford’s live shows are quickly becoming re-known for their high-energy and celebratory nature, with Rayford whipping the crowds into a frenzy, like a Gospel Preacher, in the studio and in person, Sugaray Rayford is developing a reputation as a force to be reckoned with and an artist to watch in the coming years.     www.sugarayrayford.com

Sue Foley, Crystal Shawanda, Jenie Thai, Harry Manx & Steve Marriner, Earle & Coffin to perform at Maple Blues Awards

Sue Foley, Crystal Shawanda, Jenie Thai, Harry Manx & Steve Marriner, Earle & Coffin to perform at Maple Blues Awards Raoul Bhaneja hosts Koerner Hall National Blues Gala February 4 Montreal’s Guy Bélanger to host lobby afterparty "Winner’s Circle Jam” (Toronto) – The Toronto Blues Society has announced the performers who will grace the stage at Koerner Hall in Toronto for the 22nd annual Maple Blues Awards gala and concert, to be held on Monday, February 4th, 2019. Heating up the cold February night will be performances from some the of the hottest Canadian blues artists including, Steve Marriner of MonkeyJunk with Harry Manx, guitarist/singer-songwriter Sue Foley, who is nominated in six categories, Jenie Thai, who is nominated for Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year, blues-belter and Female Vocalist of the Year nominee Crystal Shawanda and Newfoundland’s New Artist of the Year nominees Earle & Coffin. The evening will also feature a performance from Raoul Bhaneja, actor and bandleader of Raoul & The Big Time, who will be hosting the gala for the fourth time. Providing the MBA’s musical background and theme, The Maple Blues Band also accompanies all the special guests who perform as part of that special night. The Maple Blues Band has been a cornerstone of the annual Maple Blues Awards Ceremony in Toronto since 1999. This world-class, eight-member group includes some of Canada’s highly respected blues musicians, all of whom are multiple Maple Blues Award winners and nominees including Gary Kendall, Teddy Leonard, Lance Anderson, Chris Murphy, Al Lerman, Pat Carey, Jim Casson, and Howard Moore. Following the not-to-be-missed gala event is the popular afterparty and jam, hosted by Montreal’s Guy Bélanger. Canadian blues fans can vote for nominees online in the eligible categories until December 1st, at 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time. Register at www.mapleblues.ca. The Maple Blues Awards will be held on February 4th, 2019. The gala event is considered to be the premier blues event of the year.  Tickets for the Maple Blues Awards are available online at rcmusic.com or at the Koerner Hall box office (The Weston Family Box Office, located in The Royal Conservatory building at 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto) or by phone at (416) 408-0208. TBS Charter Members can benefit from the ongoing exclusive pre-sale and purchase best available seats for a discounted price, $35. Koerner Hall is The Royal Conservatory’s 1,135-seat performance venue. It is beloved for its architectural beauty and architectural acoustic excellence. Since opening, it has hosted hundreds of concerts and events reaching more than one million individuals around the world. Koerner Hall is celebrating its 10th anniversary season in 2018-19. To learn more or purchase tickets, please visit rcmusic.com/performance.

Cary Morin - When I Rise - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, When I Rise from Cary Morin and it's quite good. Morin has coupled his solid vocals, crisp guitar work and fine knowledge of musical phrasing to craft his best release yet. Opening with title track, When I Rise, Morin on lead vocal works with large group of talented musicians including Steve Amedee on drums, Paul Benjaman on electric guitar, Celeste De lorio on vocals, Jay Forrest on drums, Jason Larson on vocal, piano and bass, Dexter Payne on harp and clarinet, Kim Stone on bass, Andy Weyl on piano and Lionel Young on violin. Let Me Hear The Music has a terrific melody and Morin's vocals paired with Payne's clarinet work is pure gold. The Grateful Dead's Dire Wolf gets a really strong rework and I got to say I really like it. With a bit of stiffening and drama and really nice backing vocals by Di lorio, this is a cool track. Benjamin's electric guitar soloing, coupled with Morin's steel work is magic. One of my favorite tracks on the release is My Memories of You with a beautiful melody and the perfect balance between strong vocals and clean guitar accompaniment. Excellent! Another really strong ballad is Devoted One with Morin on acoustic guitar and vocal. Very nice. Morin presents his own interpretation of Duane Allman's classic, Little Martha with a few stylistic changes but pure as written. Happy go lucky Lay Baby Lay is a quick shuffle with just enough zip to put a smile on your face and some mighty tasty guitar riffs. Wrapping the release is an acoustic version of Water In The Jug, included on the release in electric form. Morin certainly has a joy for the music and a really nice voice. This track, with jubilant, almost spiritual feel shows Morin's joy in his music shining. 

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Up 2 Zero Entertainment artist: Anthony Gomes - Peace, Love & Loud Guitars - New Release review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Peace, Love & Loud Guitars, from Anthony Gomes and it has the signature Gomes edgy rock blues feel. Opening with solid rocker, Come Down, Gomes is handling lead vocal and guitar. Backed by Mike Brignardello on bass, Greg Morrow on drums, David Smith on keys, Chris Leuzinger on acoustic guitar and Angie Primm, Gale Stuart, Devonne Foulkes and Gomes on backing vocals this is a nice opener. Turning up the blues, Blues In The First Degree has a great pace and Gomes' vocals are gritty and raw. His guitar soloing has real bite and Brignardello's bass lines are perfect. Shuffle track, The Whiskey Made Me Do It, is one of those tracks that you know will be a huge concert favorite. Gomes' slide work gives the track a steamy edge making this one of my favorite tracks on the release. The radio choice for the release is ballad, You Are Amazing with it's supple melody, fluid guitar solos and solid vocals. Very nice. Title track, Peace, Love & Loud Guitars is a classic rocker with rowdy guitar riffs which would fill any arena with screaming head bangers. Another track with mass appeal is Your Mama Wants To Do Me with the following lyric (and your daddy wants to do me in). Another of my favorites, Hard Road Easy, has a great drum floor compliments of Morrow paired with Gomes' guitar lines giving it a Led Zep feel. His soloing on this track is smooth and lush. Wrapping the release is ballad, Take Me Back Home featuring Gomes way out front on lead vocals with only the necessity of backing instrumentation. A very clean closer for 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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