Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Hell Bent With Grace, from Angel Forrest , and it's a solid rocker. Opening with Menie the Monster , a sure footed rocker, Forrest shows excellent poise with a gritty edge on lead vocals, backed by Denis Columbus on acoustic guitar and bass, Ricky Paquette on guitar, Bernard Quesy on B3, Alec Mc Kelchenson on bass, and Sly Carombe on drums. Get It On has just the right amount of funk with a hot bottom, and great drum work by Carombe and some real nice guitar riffs by Paquette. The Blame Game has all of the components of a radio track with the strong melody line, solid backing vocals by Paquette and just a light tint of country with a memorable guitar solo by Paquette. Bluesy ballad, Marigold , is my favorite track on the release with strong vocals by Forrest, a really nice melody and rich Wurlitzer tones and guitar interweave by Quesy and Paquette. Wrapping the release is Bane Lorraine , a strong rocker with a st...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Friends of the Blues 2 , by Myles Goodwyn and it's easy going. Opening with shuffle track, Hip Hip a shuffle track with Kenny Blues Boss Wayne on piano and Blair Mackay on drums, Goodwyn on lead vocal and ripping some tight guitar riffs. Bobby Womack's, All Over Now, gets an interesting rework with John Main on piano, Shrimp Daddy on harmonica and John Canpbelljohn on slide. Very cool. More traditional blues track, Fish Tank Blues , has cool guitar pick and slide technique over a slightly funky rhythm under Goodwyn's vocals. Campbelljohn is back on slide on Daddy Needs New Shoes , a quick paced shuffle with a snappy beat and backing vocals by Reeny Smith and Lisa Macdougall. Up next is I Saw Someone That Wasn't There (And It Was You) , a blues rocker with some of the best vocals on the release and likely the best radio track on the release. With it's solid melody, call and response guitar riffs by ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Electric Love , from Angel Forres t and it's strong. Recorded live at Centre des Arts Juliette-Lassonde in Quebec this is a powerful numbered and signed limited edition. Opening with All The Way , a funky blues rocker, Angel Forrest projects live right through the player. Joined by Alec McElcheran on bass, Sly Coulombe on drums, Denis Coulombe on acoustic guitar,  and with slick guitar soloing from Ricky Paquette, this is a strong opener. On Janis Joplin's Piece Of My Heart , Forrest shows a genuine likeness to Joplin's own performance of this trademark track with able backing vocals by McElcheran, Paquette and Coulombe.  Traditional folk track, The House Of The Rising Sun , made popular by Eric Burdon in the 60's gets a nice makeover with stinging guitar work by Paquette. Excellent! Wrapping side one is smoky Move On with a cool driving beat, swaying feel and stylized guitar work by Paquette. Nice close...

Multiple-Award Winning Canadian Blues Vocalist Angel Forrest Releases Ambitious Double Live CD With a career spanning 30 years and 10 albums, the recipient of the Maple Blues Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year for the past five years, Angel Forrest released her ambitious double live album Electric Love on February 2, 2018.  Recorded live on October 26, 2017 at Centre des Arts Juliette-Lassonde in Quebec, this limited edition, numbered and signed Electric Love features various sounds ranging from blues to rock through, with original compositions and covers of great classics that you will certainly recognize.  Well known in the Canadian blues scene, Angel Forrest has been performed at major festivals in Canada and Europe (International Jazz Festival of Montreal, Tremblant Blues Festival, Blues sur Seine, Blues Festival of Edmunston, Victoriaville, of Trois-Rivières and Kuujjuaq). She ...

I just received the newest release, Angel's 11 , from Angel Forrest and it's got a special feel. Opening with Hangman , a solid blues rocker, Forrest shows that she's serious business and ready for anything. With Johnny Flash on guitar, Dennis Coulombe on bass, Sly Coulombe on drums and Bernard Quessy on B3, this track could easily see a lot of radio play. All The Way has a real cool rhythm and perfect timing from Coulombe on percussion. Forrest has a special voice and this track is perfect for her. Rob MacDonald lays in a nice guitar solo rounding out this track. Spoil Me Up is a real cool, jazzy track featuring beautiful guitar work from Steve Strongman and nice horn work from Frankie Thiffault on tenor sax, Mathieu Mousseau on bari sax, and Nicolas Boulay on trumpet. Excellent! Hold On Tight has a bluesy rock/ country sound with a real cool bass line from Alec Mc Elcheran. Ricky Paquette steps up with some searing guitar lead and I particularly like Sly Coulombe, ...

QUEBEC BLUES ARTISTS SWEEP MAPLE BLUES AWARDS Montreal's Steve Hill Tops Tally With Four Wins January 19, 2015 (Toronto) - Blue Monday, thought to be the most depressing day of the year, was anything but last night Toronto’s Koerner Hall, as internationally renowned Canadian Blues Artists from coast-to-coast were honoured by their peers at the 18 th Annual Maple Blues Awards gala. Montreal’s one-man band, Steve Hill took home all of the awards he was nominated for including Entertainer of the Year, Electric Act of the Year, Recording of the Year for Solo Recordings Vol. 2, and Guitar Player of the Year. Angel Forrest won two awards including Female Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Also representing the thriving Quebec blues scene were Nanette Workman who won the Blues with a Feeling Lifetime Achievement Award and Greg Morency of the Paul DesLauriers Band who won Bassist of the Year. From Montreal, Guy Belanger won Harmonica Play...