Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Kick Up Some Dust , from Arthur Adams and it's super. Opening with It Makes Me Mad , a strong R&B style blues, Arthur Adams has a silky smooth voice and great blues hands. Backed by Hense Powell on keys, Lou Castro on bass, David Leach on percussion and James Gadson on drums, this is a terrific opener. Soulful, Hold On To Me is another showcase for Adam's voice with super phrasing and perfect guitar accents. With Freddie Washington on bass, Powell on keys and Greg Brown on drums, this is another strong track. Title track, Kick Up Some Dust , is a slick, instrumental with Adams leading the way on solo guitar. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Thieves Of Love with deep soulful groove and warm guitar articulation by Adams. Powell on keys, Washington on bass and James Gadson on drums really make it happen on this one. Wrapping the release is funky,  A Bag Of Soul with it's JG Watson or WW Washingto...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Blues , from William Shatner, yes that William Shatner. What's it like...you'll have to see for yourself.  Opening with blues classic, Sweet Home Chicago , Shatner teams up with Brad Paisley who throws down some cool blues and country riffs along with Jurgen Engler on guitar, bass and banjo, Chris Lentz on keys and Adam Hamilton on drums, bass, guitar and harmonica. Shatners vocals are freeform and emotional. Otis Rush's I Can't Quit You Baby , features Kirk Fletcher who runs some real nice glues riffs of his own and manages Shatner's freeform vocals nicely. Cream's Sunshine of Your Love is up next, mostly in spoken word and I gotta say that Hamilton's work on drums is exceptional and Landreth wails on slide. Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore takes BB King's, The Thrill Is Gone to the next level and Shatner's vocals are as relaxed as I've ever heard on this track. Pat Travers ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues For A King , from BB King's daughter, Shirley King and it's jam packed with blues and legends. Opening with Joe Louis Walker's All Of My Lovin' , King is up front on lead vocal backed by Walker on guitar and Jurgen Engler on guitar, bass and drums. Holding firm on a R&B setup, King sets a straight 60's styling radio track. With super guitar work by Elvin Bishop under King's bluesy vocals, I Did You Wrong has a cool shuffle beat and a tight bottom. An unexpected rock gem, Steve Winwood's Can't Find My Way Home features Martin Barre with some excellent guitar and is one of my favorites and also possibly King's best vocal effort on the release. Gallow Pole maintains it's folk roots but with a rock edge and underlying guitar work by Harvey Mandel with really is a strong compliment. A rework of a Jr Wells track features vocal and harp by Wells, adding guitar by Walker, ba...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Here To Make You Feel Good , from Arthur Adams and it's solid gold. Opening with Tear the House Down , a funky track with a definite dance feel, features Adams on lead guitar and vocal, backed by Ronnie Laws on sax, David Leach on percussion, Reggie McBride on bass, Hense Powell on keys, and James Gadson on drums.  Smooth, Latin influenced R&B style track, Pretty Lady has a real nice melody and with Freddie Washington on bass. Adams gets his guitar "singing" with Santana like flair over the strong percussion of Gadson. Very nice. Adams puts in a particularly strong vocal effort on radio track, Forgive Me . The addition of Lee Thornberg and Lester Lovett on trumpet, as well as Bill Bergman on sax gives the track an overall warmer feel and Adams' jazzy guitar lead shines. My personal favorite on the release is excellent blues number, By Myself , with BB King styling. Adams is strong vocally and on ...

I just has the opportunity to review the most recent release,  Look At What The Blues Has Done For Me! , from Arthur Adams and it's a soul saturated 2 disc release. Opening with You Pullin' My Leg , a cool blues shuffle Adams on lead vocal and guitar, James Gadson on on drums, Hense Powell on keys and Brian Simpson on bass. With a real nice lope, No Refunds is great track with a 50's feel. Fluid guitar lead and a solid bottom makes this on of the best new tunes on the release. One of my favorites, Low Down And Dirty has a BB King feel, showing some of Adams' best vocals and tight guitar riffs with added punch on sax by Bill Bergman and Lee Thornberg on trumpet. Very nice. Deep blues flows on Leftover  From Yesterday , with soulful vocals, crisp lead guitar lines and warm blues rhythm. Nice. Closing disc one, is R&B track, Gorgeous , with it's smooth feel and solid vocals. Every disc needs to have a radio track and this is it. Disc 2 is an introduction t...

Arthur Adams was born in a small town in Medon, Tennessee; twelve miles from Jackson, Tennessee. Jackson is eighty-four miles north of Memphis, Tennessee. Arthur attended Tennessee State University for one year, then, joined Jimmy Beck's Band in the early sixties. He traveled throughout the south and moved to Los Angeles, California in the late sixties where he began his recording and writing career. His first album "It's Private Tonight" is on Blue Thumb records. "Home Brew" and "Midnight Serenade" are both on Fantasy records. "Back on Track" is on Blind Pig records, and "Soul of the Blues" is on PMRC records. Arthur has played some of the top blues and jazz festivals in the world. Central Jazz & Blues Festival in Los Angeles, Long Beach Blues Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, Pocono Blues Festival, Biscuit & Blues club in San Francisco, B.B. King's Blues clubs in both Hollywood and Memphis, Le Passage B...