Bman's Blues Report

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Heart of Fire , from Ally Venable and it's a solid blues rocker. Opening with title track, Heart of Fire , Venable is upfront with this Hendrix/Trower flavored radio track. Backed by Elijah Owings on drums, Bobby Wallace on bass and Pat Fusco on keys, Venable's vocals are solid and her riffs undeniable. With a bit of finger picking and acoustic slide, Played the Game still has a pop feel but with a bit more bluesy edge. Bobby Wallace adds keys and Venable's own acoustic slide work gives it a nice feel. Heavy blues rocker, Bring On The Pain , features Kenny Wayne Shepherd and he plays stinging riffs that propel this track under the vocal harmony of Venable. This track has a real nice edge and with the heavier rhythm work, one of the best on the release. Bill Withers' ultra funky track, Use Me , is up next with Owlings, Wallace and Venable creating a great rhythm under Venable's vocals. Very nice. A play...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Blues Groove Sessions #1 from Shakin' Woods and it's a solid blues rocker. Opening with Like A Superman , singer/guitarist Rich Russman shows the way on this soulful radio rocker. With its strong melody and melodic, Mesa Boogie, guitar work, Latin influenced rhythm by George Belton on bass, Paul Dudley on drums, Austin Day on keys, it's a certain to get some airplay. Bluesy, The Place To Be has a great back beat and sets you deep in one of those grooves. Very nice. Another track with a funky beat is Cayman Review with a fun vocal interplay, funky organ by Day and bongo/tom tom playing by Dudley that really hits the spot. Wrapping the release is Still Alive , a heavy weight blues rocker that really gives Russman the opportunity to show his chops and he's not holding back. The band is hot and heavy on this super closer for a solid release.    If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Desert Trip , from Steve Hill , and it's an interesting blend of folk, rock and blues. Opening with Evening Star , a chant like blues track with a thumping drum beat and fleet fingered acoustic guitar work is a strong opener for one of Canada's most prolific guitar players. Rain is a real cool track with super vocals, a progressive melody and solid guitar accompaniment. Cold Hearts reminds me quite a bit of a Frank Black composition (Pixies) with it's solid melody, strong pace and tight package. Very nice. Another strong composition is I Won't , a simple acoustic and vocal ballad. Hill has a great way of blending a cool tune with interesting rhythm and just the right amount of finger work. Very nice. With it's firm foot stomp driving rhythm and guitar driven melody, Hill does some of his best vocal work on Make Believe . The track shows how simple guitar execution can be so tasty. Judgement Day has a ...

 I just has the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Corner , from Early Times & the High Rollers and it's a cool rocker. Opening with easy shuffle, Come On, Let's Ride , Early Times on vocal and guitar is upfront with Joshua Keith on drums, Dan Schnapp on keys and Hardan Long on bass. On The Corner maintains a lighter radio feel but with bluesy guitar riffs by Times and a solid drum bottom by Keith. Sixties style rocker, Do What She Do keeps it simple with a solid melody and simple beat. A strong radio track and a cool track. Bluesy, She's About To Lose Her Mind , grinds into a lumbering groove with nice piano and organ work by Schnapp under some of Times' best vocal work and some real tasty guitar riffs by Popa Chubby making this one of my favorites on the release. Instrumental, Rosie's Herbs 'n Ting is a light, jazzy rocker with a hint of Latin spice giving Times a nice chance to step out on guitar over the tight percussive rhythms of J...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, WildRoots Sessions Volume 1, from The WildRoots and it really cool. Opening with Eddie Floyd's classic, 634-5789 , Stephen Dees on bass, Victor Wainwright on piano and lead vocal and Patricia Ann Dees on lead vocal and sax, joined by John Oates on rhythm guitar, Eddie Zyne on drums, Todd Sharp on lead guitar, David Kent on piano, and Beth McKee on backing vocal this is a soulful opener. Move Along Part 1 is a super jam with tight percussion and horns. With Patricia on lead vocal, Greg Gumpel on guitar, Gerard Guida on Hammond Robert Caban on percussion, and Billy Dean on drums this is a hot track. Charlie DeChant lays in a really nice tenor sax solo soulful ballad, Our Last Goodbye featuring John Oates on lead vocal. Very nice. Venturing into spiritual music, Cradled In The Bosom of Jerusalem , has deep gospel styling with rich vocal work by Wainwright, Particia, Beth McKee, drums by Alberto Cruz and acoustic slide ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Come To My World , by Luca Burgalassi , and it's a laid back Eric Clapton/JJ Cale style look at the blues. Opening with My Loving Babe, Burgalassi sings and accompanies himself on guitar and dobro, drums and harmonica. A cool, modern stroke at the blues with a dash of country gives this track a familiar feel. Solid opener. A lightly salted jazz track, All My Blues , has a snappy rhythm section of bass and drums under Luca's flight fretwork and lush vocals. Haunting, Notte is one of my favorite tracks on the release featuring Valentina Sorbera on piano and Holly Kirsten on strings. Ballad, Song In The Distance is a solid radio track with a rich melody and Luca accompanying himself primarily on guitar. Very nice. With a Muddy Waters like dobro slide riffs, and Rob Oliver on harmonica, The Real Me is a cool, updated blues track. Country swinger/gypsy swinger, Tidewater Attitude has traces of Dan Hicks and the Hot ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, One Woman Band , from Ghalia Volt and it's super. Opening with stripped down, Last Minute Packer ,  Ghalia Volt has gone the way of a one woman band playing slide guitar and drums on this track backing her own bluesy vocals. The is a high energy strong opener. Espiritu Papago is another cool blues rocker with just a little more refinement with the addition of Dean Zucchero on bass. Tampa Red's It Hurt's Me Too is a strong classic included on the release with strong vocals and solid, traditional electric slide playing. Very nice. A little switch up on It Ain't Bad and a tight little rocker. With blues rock chords and a rockabilly turn around, Crissie Hynde like vocal and slap cymbals, this is really sweet. Letting it all hang out on Bad Apple , Volt turns up the amp on her slide and works the guitar nicely in concert with her lead vocal and foot drum. One of the longer tracks on the release and a open spac...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Let's Go , from Cousin Harley and it's a blast. Billed as Canada's premier hillbilly rockers, Cousin Harley opens with Right Back With The Blues , a country stepper. Paul Pigat on lead vocal and guitar, Jesse Cahill on drums and Keith Picot on bass make this track sound like it was recorded in the USA circa 1956 and I love it. Pigat's vocals are strong and chesty and his guitar playing a solid tele finger picking workout. Excellent! Jumping right on the throttle with heavy driving drums by Cahill, Let's Go has a heavy bass line that is almost metal like but the result of this track is nothing short of pure rock n' roll with berry like guitar riffs. Excellent! I'm a sucker for surf tunes and El Swarto's Big Adventure is a great instrumental with fat shimmery chords and a Latin beat. Great! Cool rag style jazz track, Dancing For Bobo is a cool country flavored jazz tune which could be strai...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent self titled release from Josh Piche' and it's a cool set. Opening with Starry Eyes , a solid rocker with plenty of radio appeal, Josh Piche' is up front on guitar and lead vocal backed by Eddy Ruyter on keys, Steve Pelletier on bass and Don Pham on drums. Piche's vocals are really cool and his guitar attach sophisticated. Another track with solid radio appeal is Spend My Time with the addition of steel guitar work by Mitch Lewis. With it's softer approach, December Birds has a folky acoustic feel with light instrumentation and warm backing vocals. Wrapping the release is reggae flavored, Fools In Love with tight drum rhythms, mellow lap steel by Lewis and the addition of Anthony Brancati on keys and Mike Ferfolia on vocal.    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 look...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, You Get What You Give: Duets, from Dave Keller and it's a solid set of blues, R&B and soul. Opening with One More Tear , featuring Annika Chambers on vocal, Keller on lead vocal and guitar is backed by Ira Friedman on organ, Alex Budney on bass, Jay Gleason on drums, Mark Earley on sax, Mario Perrett on tenor sax and Tom Palance on trumpet. A potent R&B track and a super opener. Title track, You Get What You Give , pairs Keller with Annie Mack shows a lot of soul in this, radio track with it's strong, memorable melody. One of my favorite tracks on the release, The Evil That Men Do , features Keller trading lead with Trudy Lynn, Annika Chambers, Annie Mack and Johnny Rawls on what is definitely my favorite track on the release. It's composition is sophisticated and melodic and reminiscent of the best of early Elton John ballads. With Friedman on piano and Tom Palance on trumpet, this is a great track. L...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Green Room Rumble , from Endrick and the Sandwiches and it's a lot of fun. Opening with Junior Parker's Mystery Train , Montreal's own Endrick and The Sandwich has their blues groove on. Endrick Tremblay on lead vocal, harmonica, piano, and guitar leads the way, backed by Greg McEvoy on guitar, Simon Ebber on bass, and Mandella Coupal Dalgleish on drums. Willie Dixon's slow blues, Choo Choo has really nice feel with solid vocals and giving Tremblay a little space to show his guitar chops. Very cool. Trouble In Mind , made popular by Chippie Hill is sung as a quiet duet featuring Tremblay and Rene Lauziere and hitting the spot nicely. Slim Harpo's Scratch My Back is up next and is a cool ramble. Tremblay on harp and guitar captures the funky blues feel and backing vocals balance it nicely. Original track, Devil Does is my favorite track on the release with Endrick on lead vocal and guitar and a feel t...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Shadow Man , by John McLean and Charles Barkatz and it's a mixed bag of blues based rock. Opening with Leaky Shoes Blues with it's almost Pink Floyd like feel and blues overtones. With John McLean on lead vocal, Charles Barkatz on guitar and vocal, Derek O'Brien on guitar, Nick Connolly on keys, Chris Maresh on bass and John Chipman on drums and with Kaz Kazanoff on sax, John Mills on bari sax, and Al Gomez on trumpet this is a cool opener. Title track, Shadow Man , is a bright shuffle with and a cool extended guitar solo. Slow blues, She Cry Blues is one of my favorite tracks on the release with fat sax work behind soulful vocal lead by McLean and tasty blues guitar lead and solid accents. Bathtub Blues is a cool, upbeat blues rocker with the addition of Kazanoff on harmonica. Wrapping the release is New Life , a strong blues track in the manner of Willie Dixon. With it's hard rhythmic bottom, loose bu...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Mississippi to Loch Lomond , from Andres Roots and it's a strong set of acoustic style blues tracks from one of todays strongest slide players. Opening with In The Dark , a cool delta style slide piece, Roots digs in with great attack and fervor. A more solitude approach was taken on Build Me A Statue where strong, yet deliberate slide phrasing is the key. On Snake Girl Blues , Roots uses an effective blues phrase as the refrain with a cool slide anchor and slides nicely through the melody. Very nice. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Legacy Blues with it's traditional structure and sweet slide phrasing. Roots has a real nice hand and works this track just right. Another of my favorites is finger picked 4 AM Hot Dog with it's Piedmont kind of style and driving thumb bass line. Alternating back and forth between flat and slide, a real nice track. With it's light feel, Spanish Run moves from a roc...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Who Works For Who? , by Beauwater , a cool blues rock band from Canada. Opening with title track, Who Works For Who? , Jonathon Reid, on lead guitar and vocal is upfront with Michael Maddox on drums, Greg Newhook on bass, Chris Kirby on slide guitar (which adds nicely to the opener) and keys. With a heavy lumbering rhythm, The Real McCoy has a great feel, augmented by Kelly Hoppe on harmonica and the rocking guitar work of Reid. Funky, Long Way Down is really working it with a great bass line by Newhook, with solid vocals by Reid, warm organ work by Kirby and and the addition of trumpet by Terry Campbell and sax by Chris Harnett. Poison is a solid blues rocker with strong radio appeal. With it's straight forward melody, tight drum rhythm and wailing harmonica under Reid's vocals, this is a strong track. Wrapping the release is One Way Out , another solid radio track with a strong melody. A definite blues rocker wi...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Pleasure's All Mine , from Jimmie Vaughn and it's a super blues cd. Opening disc one with title track, The Pleasure's All Mine , Jimmie Vaughan lays right in the slot with this low slung blues track. His guitar work is stylistic and tasty, his vocals are solid and fat sax by Kas Kasenoff work really caps it nicely with George Rains on drums, Ronnie James on bass, Billy Pitman on rhythm guitar and Greg Picollo on tenor sax. Terrific instrumental, Comin' & Goin' really hits the spot with tight drums rhythms by Rains and a melodic guitar lead. Excellent! Up beat shuffle, How Can You Be So Mean , will get you bopping in your seat. Vaughan has one of those voices that works really nicely with swing beat music and his guitar style has just the right sting. Really nice. Cool boogie track, Roll, Roll, Roll has a strong bottom and Vaughan's vocal paired with his loose, but slick style makes for an ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Green Eyed Blues , from Laura Green and it's a cool mix of rock, blues, country and soul. Opening with country flavored, Bone To Pick , Laura Green is up front on lead vocals, backed by Art Dwyer on bass, Aaron Griffin on slide, Rob Lee on drums and Bob Lohr on piano. Her paired vocal with Rich McDonough who also plays guitar makes this a solid opener. Green really shines on It Ain't Easy , a shuffle track with a gospel structure. With backing vocals by Renee Smith, Chris Shepherd, Ron Roskowske, Michelle Isam and Ellen Kinkle make this one of my favorites on the release. Folk blues, Mama Don't Cry is a real nice track with strong vocal lead by Green over acoustic guitar and mandolin by Charlie Pfeffer. Excellent! Joe Meyer adds a real nice tom tom rhythm to That's Right , a Bo Diddley like track and Griffin's guitar work really shines. Shuffle track, Cry , has a solid blues feel and Green's vocal...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Out of the Dark , from Joyann Parker and it's a solid set of radio directed tracks with plenty of beef. Opening with Gone So Long , a country rock flavored track featuring Mark Lamoine on guitar and slide, Bill Golden on drums and Brad Schaefer on bass. With a lightly funky beat by Golden and Schaefer and the addition of Laycey Dreamz and Patricia Lacy on backing vocals, nested nicely on the warm key strokes  of Tim Wick on organ, Carry On is a solid country rocker with strong vocal lead by Parker. Either Way is a really nice ballad and a strong showcase for Parker's voice with only acoustic guitar and slide supporting her vocals. Very nice. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Predator with it's Latin rhythm and seductive vocal styling by Parker, tasty guitar work by Lamoine and the addition of Dave Foley on trumpet. Come On Baby (Take Me Dancing) is an ideal radio track with a catchy melody and upb...