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I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!


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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Whiskey Island Records artist - Jeff Powers - If It Ain't This It's That - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, If It Ain't This It's That, from Jeff Powers and it's a sliding extravaganza. Opening with a euphoric slide soundscape, Dirt Road Blues/ Beer And Whiskey Coffee and Cigarettes opens up to a ragged blues on a cigar box guitar, not unlike other very successful contemporary raw blues players like Dan Auerbach and Jack White. Very cool. Miss My Ball and Chain has a lot of the characteristics of Son House but with a contemporary spin and a lot of frenzy. Another cool track! Bad Bad Luck (Bad Luck Boogie) really gets the meat grinding. This is one of the few all cb one man band releases that I've reviewed and I really lke it. Of course I've seen Moreland and Arbuckle as well as Super Chikan but this is a different game. Cold Wind In Cleveland has a real basic blues blues structure but with more modern vocal phrasing. Careful What You Wish For continues along the same lines but with more contemporary guitar styling again on the cb. Well I Wish is a real blues romper with roots in the Muddy Waters. This is a great track and a great addition to the release. Went Down To Mississippi keeps it simple allowing the cb do that talking. Wild Child (The Ballad of Brian Power) is really a country ballad with the melody echoed on cb guitar. With a lot of the characteristics of RL Burnside it maintains the raw pureness of country mountain blues. Juke Joint Jam feels like it's right out of a southern juke jam. Powers shows that he has been there and does an excellent job of taking you there with him. On title track, If It Ain't This It's That, Powers takes the feel of a contemporary ballad and plays it in the fashion of original raw blues. Interesting twist. Woke Up Lucky has a really slick slide riff on it complimenting a tight blues rocker in it's simplest sense. Head Over Heels In Love With You (The First Time The Blues) is a very contemporary blues rock composition with a raw edge. Nice ending to a cool raw release.

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3 comments:

  1. Thanks Bman! I really appreciate the fine words. It's great when anyone takes the time to listen to an entire CD let alone review it! Musicians are usually under appreciated and so are the people who do your job...reviewing and the people
    recording, booking, radio etc...it's a labor of love for sure...we ain't gettin' rich doin' it. I'm taking this project on the road next month and I think there will be some people who will soon love 3-string Cigar Box Guitar...it is a fine blues instrument. I'm glad Doug Deutsch connected me with you. Jeff Powers

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    1. Thanks Jeff. It's nice when a cool release and a cool artist are the same. Often enough I review releases and never hear a word from them. I appreciate the feedback and wish you well on your tour.

      Bman

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  2. Doug Deutsch Publicity ServicesMarch 18, 2014 at 10:23 PM

    Thanks for the shout-out Jeff.

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