Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Rise Up , from Harper and Midwest Kind and it's a cool rocker. Opening with title track, Rise Up , Peter D. Harper leads the way on vocal, harmonica, didgeridoo, keyboard and guitar, With Geoff Michael on guitar, Dan "Ozzie" Anderson on bass and Jim Pryor on drums. With it's chant like rhythm and primitive sounds, it's quite a cool opener. On Blues I Can't Use , Paul Nelson joins on guitar and hill country styling is accented nicely by hot slide riffs. My favorite track on the release is I Still Got You with it's funky, R&B bass line, great melody and Harper's soulful harmonica and vocals. Another track with a thumping bass line is Welcome Home with cool vocals, a bouncy rhythm making it the most likely radio track and solid harmonica work. Wrapping the release is Peaceful, a cool, jazzy track with a light feel and nice percussion under the stylized acoustic guitar work of Harper...