Stony Plain artist: Maria Muldaur -First Came Memphis Minnie - New Release Review

I have just received a copy of Maria Muldaur's newest release, ... First Came Memphis Minnie (available October 9, 2012). Muldaur has elnisted a virtual who's who of blues royalty including Rory Blck, Ruthie Foster, Bonnie Raitt, Phoebe Snow, Koko Taylor, Del Rey, David Bromberg, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Roy Rogers, Steve James and Steve Freund. First up is Me And My Chauffeur Blues with Muldaur on vocals and Roy Rogers on guitar. This is a really nice cover and one of Minnie's gems. Bonnie Raitt and Freund do a great version of Ain't Nothin' In Ramblin'. On I'm Goin' Back Home, Muldair teams up with Alvin Youngblood Hart for a very classic sounding duet. (Certainly one of my favorites tracks on the release). I'm Sailin' featuring Muldaur on vocals with Del Rey and Steve James on guitars shows Muladur's voice at it's best. Rory Block takes the lead on When You Love Me both on vocals and guitars. Long As I Can See You Smile, again with Muldaur, Del Rey and James is a bit more uptempo and very solid. The deliberate guitar of Del Rey on work on Lookin' The World Over is a very cool accent to Muldaur who really gets Minnie's style. Another of my favorites on the recording is In My Girlish Days performed by Phoebe Snow and David Bromberg. This track is exceptional. Muldaur and AYH are back together again on She Put Me Outdoors. Though not as effective as their earlier track together, it is still quite a nice track with addition of mandolin by Dave Earl. One of my personal favorite tracks by Minnie, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut, is performed here by one of my favorite contemporary female vocalists, Ruthie Foster, accompanied here by Steve Freund. Beautiful. The intro on Tricks Ain't Walkin' has some really nice resonator work as well as mandolin by Earl. Muldaur puts here heart into the track and it really makes the track come to life. Again a sweet guitar intro by James and Del Ray on Crazy Cryin' Blues leads to some moaning by Muldaur on one of Minnie's more soulful tracks.Koko Taylor takes it home with Black Rat Swing. This of course is a great track and features Bob Margolin on slide. Taylor lets it all hang out hear for a great conclusion toa very cohesive tribute recording.


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Nugene Records artist: Ian Siegal & The Mississippi Mudbloods - Candy Store Kid - New release review

I just received the newest release (october 15, 2012), Candy Store Kid, by Ian Siegal & The Mississippi Mudbloods. The release opens with Bayou Country, a bluesy track with cool female vocal backing. It defies pigeon holing with a bit of a bayou sound but cool guitar riffs just filling intermittently. Strangely cool. Loose Cannon sounds more like ZZ Top than anything else I can think of but it really doesn't sound like ZZ Top. Let's say it's a loosly constructed southern blues romp and of course with some cool guitar riffs. I Am The Train is a bit of a rock track with some country stirred in and slide guitar played blues style to top it off. So Much Trouble sounds like tune with dark origins in the swamp. This may be the best track on the release. it just has the right touch of dark and blues, guitars and vocals. This is a very strongly constructed track. Kingfish is a raw delta blues stomper that delivers a smooth sliding jam. The Fear has a fairly distinctive sound like Link Wray. It's a cool track and a nice addition. Earlie Grace jnr is an interesting little folk like blues track where Siegal's vocals are best highlighted. It's a stripped down track mostly with vocal and drums. Green Power takes a different route with a strong funk beat and electric guitar in wha wha. This track takes the funk to the next level with great backing vocals. Possibly the prominent airplay track from this recording. Strong Woman begins with a contrast between acoustic finger picking and electric blues riffs. It is an experimental style with unusual rhythm patterns but cool composition. Rodeo is more of a country ballad from the days of real country music but possibly with the Tex Mex blues style overlaid. I like the authenticity. The vocal harmonies and the light touch on rhythm guitar are particularly appealing. Hard Pressed (what da fuzz) is a fairly strait forward blues/rock track but with some really cool fuzzed guitar slide riffs. Another cool track. The Mississippi Mudbloods is Cody Dickinson, Luther Dickinson and Alvin Youngblood Hart and including Gary Burnside, Lightnin' malcolm, Stephanie Bolton, Sharisse Norman and Shontelle Norman. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Pony Blues - Alvin Youngblood Hart

Alvin Youngblood Hart (born March 2, 1963, Oakland, California, United States) is a Grammy Award-winning American musician.
Born in Oakland California, Hart had family connections with Carroll County, Mississippi, and spent time there in his childhood, hearing his relatives stories of Charlie Patton, "being around these people who were there when this music was going on". Thus influenced by the country blues, Hart is known as one of the world's foremost practitioners of that genre. Hart is also known as a faithful torchbearer for the 1960s and 1970s guitar rock of his youth, as well as Western Swing and vintage country. His music has been compared to a list of diverse artists ranging from Leadbelly, Spade Cooley to acoustic and electric guitar as well as banjo and sometimes the mandolin. Bluesman Taj Mahal once said about Hart that "The boy has got thunder in his hands." Hart himself said "I guess my big break came when I opened for Taj Mahal for four nights at Yoshi's.

In 1996 he made a powerful and individual album debut, Big Mama's Door, playing street, slide and standard guitars and banjo on a mixture of dug-up and new-grown blues.[2] In 2003, Hart's album Down in the Alley was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. In 2005, Hart received a Grammy Award for his contribution to Beautiful Dreamer - The Songs of Stephen Foster.

Hart was featured in the 2003 Wim Wenders film, The Soul of a Man, which was featured in Martin Scorsese's film series, The Blues. Hart was also featured in the documentary, Last of the Mississippi Jukes.

Hart appeared in the film, The Great Debaters in 2007, playing a 1930s juke joint musician.
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Illinois Blues - Alvin Youngblood Hart

Here's Alvin doing some Skip James. Skip had such a great voice he is a joy to listen to but Hart does a real nice job with this tune.

Born in Oakland California, Hart had family connections with Carroll County, Mississippi, and spent time there in his childhood, hearing his relatives stories of Charlie Patton, "being around these people who were there when this music was going on". Thus influenced by the country blues, Hart is known as one of the world's foremost practitioners of that genre. Hart is also known as a faithful torchbearer for the 1960s and 1970s guitar rock of his youth, as well as Western Swing and vintage country. His music has been compared to a list of diverse artists ranging from Leadbelly, Spade Cooley to acoustic and electric guitar as well as banjo and sometimes the mandolin. Bluesman Taj Mahal once said about Hart that "The boy has got thunder in his hands." Hart himself said "I guess my big break came when I opened for Taj Mahal for four nights at Yoshi's.

In 1996 he made a powerful and individual album debut, Big Mama's Door, playing street, slide and standard guitars and banjo on a mixture of dug-up and new-grown blues. In 2003, Hart's album Down in the Alley was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. In 2005, Hart received a Grammy Award for his contribution to Beautiful Dreamer - The Songs of Stephen Foster.

Hart was featured in the 2003 Wim Wenders film, The Soul of a Man, which was featured in Martin Scorsese's film series, The Blues. Hart was also featured in the documentary, Last of the Mississippi Jukes.

Enjoy!
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Robert Johnson 100yrs Old - Hell Hounds On My Trail

In remembering one of the greatest blues players and singers of all time on his birthday, I bring you one of my favorite Robert Johnson songs. I searched for a while to find an appropriate tribute to Mr. Johnson. Alvin Youngblood Hart does a nice job!

Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much legend, including a Faustian myth. As an itinerant performer who played mostly on street corners, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances, Johnson enjoyed little commercial success or public recognition in his lifetime.

His records sold poorly during his lifetime, and it was only after the first reissue of his recordings on LP in 1961 that his work reached a wider audience. Johnson is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly of the Delta blues style. He is credited by many rock musicians as an important influence; Eric Clapton has called Johnson "the most important blues singer that ever lived". Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "Early Influence" in their first induction ceremony in 1986. He was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

The Cosmic American Love Child Of Howlin Wolf and Link Wray! Known as a musician's musician, his praises have been sung by everyone from Bob Dylan to Brit guitar gods Eric Clapton & Mick Taylor. Since his 1996 debut recording, the all-acoustic BIG MAMA'S DOOR, Alvin Youngblood Hart has carried his musical message the world over. A devout follower of the "no barriers" approach laid by veteran performers like Gatemouth Brown and the late great Doug Sahm, Alvin continues to defy the so-called purists.

After receiving the 1997 W.C Handy Award for Best New Artist, as well as two Living Blues Awards, Hart's 1998 release, TERRITORY, a rousing tribute to all forms of American music, received the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll Award for Best Blues Album (and it wasn't even a Blues album). In the summer of 1999 Hart teamed up with producer Jim Dickinson to begin recording START WITH THE SOUL. This record would be hailed as a new breed Southern Rock classic and Alvin's return to the "sacred garage". START WITH THE SOUL was chosen by the New York Times as one of the top 10 releases of 2000, as well as the BBC's Blues record of the year. He also shared Living Blues Magazine's best guitarist honors with fellow road dog Big Jack Johnson in 2001.

2003 was a busy year. Not only was there a GRAMMY nomination, Hart also toured the world as a member of Job Cain, a hard rocking side project he put together with Cry Of Love/Black Crowes guitarist Audley Freed. In August of '03 Alvin was invited to fill in for Taj Mahal for five nights in Tokyo as a member of Kip Hanrahan's Conjure, the worlds longest running jazz poetry ensemble. Assembled to lend musical support to the words of Bay Area poet Ishmael Reed, Conjure featured the talents of tenor sax giant David Murray and also Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli. Alvin is still a member of the revolving cast and recorded with them on the BAD MOUTH CD.

In 2004 Mr. Hart received a Grammy for his contribution to BEAUTIFUL DREAMER :THE SONGS OF STEPHEN FOSTER. In the Summer of 2005 he released the self produced MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER, a rock guitar free-for-all, paying homage to fallen & missing rockers like Phil Lynott and Sly Stone. In 2006 Hart took time out to work on the film BLACK SNAKE MOAN. He served as a guitar tutor to star Samuel L. Jackson and recorded a duet with the film’s female lead Christina Ricci for the soundtrack. In the fall of that year Hart joined Austin dynamo Ruthie Foster and Rock n Roll legend Bo Diddley for a 2 month coast to coast US tour. Recently Alvin has thrown his talent into the educational arena. In April 2007 he participated on a tour of Mississippi high schools as a member of the Thelonius Monk Institute Of Jazz.

The Summer of ’07 saw Alvin hit the big screen as a juke joint musician in the Denzel Washington directed film THE GREAT DEBATERS

Hart continues to tour the globe as a solo artist and with his Mighty Muscle Theory band.
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