Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Jacksongs , by Jeff Berlin and it's a really nice tribute to Jack Bruce's music. Opening with Creamed , Berlin on bass and keys is joined by Ron Hembly on lead vocal, John Cowan on vocal, Gabriela Sinagra on backing vocals, Bruce Guttridge on drums and John McCracken on guitars with Alex Lifeson on solo guitar. The track begins with Politician and flows through White Room and Tales of Brave Ulysses  among others with strong guitar work and of course prominent bass work. Very nice opener. One of my favorite Mountain tracks, and another Bruce penned track,  Theme From and Imaginary Western is up next and features Hemby on lead vocal who really does a strong job of covering Bruce's beautiful vocal melody with Pat Coil on Hammond and Berlin on keys and bass (including a real nice solo) with guest Eric Johnson on guitar solo and Gregg Bissonette on drums. Excellent. Another of Bruce's beautiful melodies, One Wi...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (February 22, 2019), Nobody Told Me , from John Mayall and it's quite good. Opening with Magic Sam's, What Have I Done Wrong , a solid  blues rocker, Mayall on lead vocal, keys and harp is joined by Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums and features Joe Bonamassa on guitars. Great opener. Larry McCray joins on The Moon Is Full with blistering guitar riffs over a really hard driving bass line by Rzab. Excellent! Rush veteran, Alex Lifeson joins on Evil And Here To Stay , a lumbering blues track with a healthy dose of Mayall on vocal, harp and piano. Lifeson shows an excellent adaptability from his hard driving rock sound to soulful blues riffs. Very nice. Little Milton's That's What Love Will Make You Do has a funky bass line by Rzab and tune master Todd Rundgren fires off some blistering blues guitar riffs of his own. Gary Moore's, The Hurt Inside , is one of my favorites on the release again...

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 guitarist...

Rik Emmett & RE Solution 9 ‘RES 9’ Provogue/Mascot Label Group Out: 11 November 2016 Teamwork. Collaboration. Connectivity. Solidarity. These are all words that readily describe the thrust of Rik Emmett & RESolution9, who are poised to release their electrifying new album RES 9 worldwide on November 11 th in various formats — including CD, limited-edition red vinyl, and digital download — on Provogue Records, an imprint of Mascot Label Group. “This album represents a journey through my life,” Emmett observes, “and the idea behind a lot of these songs is me trying to figure out who I am, and why I’m doing what I’m doing. There’s a common thread of positivity here that ties into the records I was making 30 years ago. What did I learn from making them? You’ll hear all of that echoed in the grooves of this album.” Indeed, the scope of the 11 deeply heartfelt songs on RES 9 covers a lot of exciting aural ground, from the out-of-the-gate gallop of “Hu...