Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Playing Out The String , from Arlen Roth and it's great display of Arlen's acoustic guitar talents. I've been listening to Roth since early in his career with tele in hand and this is a cool and interesting departure. Opening with Gus Cannon's Walk Right In , Roth on vocal and guitar sets a more pop pace but the album gets pretty deep in acoustic/blues presentation. Norman Blake's Randall Collins is a terrific track with fleet fingered playing accompanying Roth's vocals. Very cool. Brownie McGhee's Gonna Move Across The River gives Roth a great opportunity to play acoustic slide on a terrific country blues track and Townes Van Zandt's classic, Pancho and Lefty is a strong addition with melody handled purely on guitar. Very nice. Louis Jordan's crowd favorite, You Can't Get That Stuff No More , features Roth on slide acoustic and vocal. Blind Blake's rag track, Diddy Wah Diddy ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues Comin' On from Joe Louis Walker and it's a fireplug. Opening with rocker, Feed The Poor , a funky blues rocker, Walker on lead vocal and Jorma on lead guitar, John Bradford on bass, Dorian Randolph on drums, Juma Sultan on percussion and Bruce Katz. This track is heavy. Super backing vocals by Bradford, and Randolph almost give it a Daryl Hall edge. Cool opener. R&B track, Someday, Someway is certainly one of my favorites on the release with Carla Cooke at the mic. Her vocals are terrific and with Walker on backing vocal and guitar and joined by Lee Oskar and his classic harp tone, Eric Finland on keys, Bradford on bass and Randolph on drums. Excellent! Easy shuffle, Old Time Used To Be has Walker on 12 string and vocal, with Joh Sebastian on harp and  Keb Mo on slide. Katz has a real nice piano solo on this one and adds an overall bright feel to the track. Swampy Bowlegged Woman, Knock-Kneed Man has a...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Tele Masters , from Arlen Roth and it's super. Featuring a who's who of telecaster players, this release has it all. Opening with Remington Ride with Steve Wariner and Cindy Cashdollar, this track has a lot of country spice and great picking. Wariner and Roth each take turns showing their chops and Cashdollar's lap steel work is impeccable as always. backed by Tom Hambridge on drums, Tommy MacDonald on bass and Billy Panda on acoustic guitar, this is a super opener. A funky, lumbering arrangement to Big Bill Broonzy's Key To The Highway gives it a fresh new life. Jack Pearson has a great voice on lead and sharing lead guitar  with Roth, this track has really digs in. One of my favorites. A track featuring a great finger picking shoot out is Bunky with Brad Paisley. If you are wondering if this release is a guitar players album...oh yeah! Will Ray and Roth strut tall with Link Wray's Rumble . Keep...

I just received the newest release, Slide Guitar Summit , from Arlen Roth and it definitely lives up to all the pre hype. Roth, well known for his own guitar styling, especially on the tele with the likes of Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton, has put together a group of the best known slide players on the planet for a full blown celebration of all things slide. Opening with Do What's Right , Roth teams up with Jack Pearson on vocal and slide guitar as well as Tom Hambridge on drums and backing vocal and Tommy MacDonald for a country two step rocker. This track moves along nicely with lead and harmonic sliding... a terrific opener. Robert Johnson's Dust My Broom is next featuring Lee Roy Parnell on vocal and slide and adding Kevin McKendree on piano. With the feel of Elmore James and a nice thick slide texture, this track is hot. McKendree adds significantly to the mix with hot piano riffs. Much like a live recording, Parnell and Roth take turns on lead slide making for a hot t...

Arlen Roth Gets His Mojo Workin’ On New Album Deal with King Mojo/Garage Door Records, Due Out April 14 Acclaimed Guitarist Convenes a Slide Guitar Summit on Latest CD, with Special Guests Johnny Winter, Sonny Landreth, David Lindley, Rick Vito, Jimmy Vivino, Jack Pearson, Lee Roy Parnell, Cindy Cashdollar and Greg Martin, Produced by Tom Hambridge RIDGEFIELD, CT - Guitarist Arlen Roth announces that his new CD, Slide Guitar Summit , which teams the acclaimed musician with fellow slide guitar greats Johnny Winter, Sonny Landreth, David Lindley, Rick Vito, Jimmy Vivino, Jack Pearson, Lee Roy Parnell, Cindy Cashdollar and Greg Martin, will be released April 14 under the terms of a new deal signed with King Mojo/Garage Door Records, distributed nationally by Burnside Distribution. Slide Guitar Summit was produced by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge, and recorded at studios in New York, Nashville and Connecticut. Called “The Master of the Telecaster,” Arlen Roth re...

Acclaimed Guitarist Arlen Roth Convenes a Slide Guitar Summit on New CD, Due January 13, with Special Guests Johnny Winter, Sonny Landreth, David Lindley, Rick Vito, Jimmy Vivino, Jack Pearson, Lee Roy Parnell, Cindy Cashdollar and Greg Martin, Produced by Tom Hambridge CD Release Performance with Special Guests Set for Nashville’s City Winery on January 20 to Include Screening of Film Documentary on the Making of the Album RIDGEFIELD, CT - Guitarist Arlen Roth, the “Master of the Telecaster,” announces a January 13 release date for his new CD, Slide Guitar Summit , which teams the acclaimed musician with an incredible lineup of fellow slide guitar greats – Johnny Winter, Sonny Landreth, David Lindley, Rick Vito, Jimmy Vivino, Jack Pearson, Lee Roy Parnell, Cindy Cashdollar and Greg Martin – for what promises to be one of the most celebrated albums of the new year. Produced by Grammy winner Tom Hambridge, Slide Guitar Summit was recorded at studios in N...

Here's a cool video of two great guitar players. Danny Gatton (September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994) was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography. Gatton was ranked 63rd on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time in 2003. On May 26, 2010, Gibson.com ranked Gatton as the 27th best guitarist of all time. Arlen Roth (born 1952) is an American guitarist. His first solo album won the Montreaux Critics' Award for Best Instrumental Album of the Year in 1978.] He was Guitar Player magazine's top columnist from 1982 to 1992. He has performed with artists such as Bob Dylan, Danny Gatton, John Entwistle, John Prine, Rick Wakeman, Paul Simon (as well as Simon and Garfunkel), Ry Cooder, Sonny Landreth, Levon Helm, Bill Kirchen, Duane Edd...