Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, From The Shoals , by Barbara Blue , and it's some funky, R&B blues. Opening with The Shoals , Barbara Blue on lead vocal leads way with a stellar backing band featuring  Bernard Purdie on drums, David Hood on bass, Clayton Ivey on keys and Will McFarlane on guitar. On Clarence Carter's Tell Mama , Blue adds a nice compliment of Marc Franklin on trumpet, and Brad Guin on sax plus Davor Hacic- Hutch on guitar for a solid rendition of the classic track. Shuffle track, Slide Man is a cool track featuring Blue on vocal and McFarlane on slide guitar. With it's catchy melody and smooth guitar work, this is a cool number. Too Far is my favorite track on the release with it's arpeggiated guitar submelody and excellent guitar lead by McFarlane and strong sax work by Guin. Wrapping the release is slow boogie, Trail of Tears with it's drone bass line by Hood and strong vocal lead by Blue, nicely accented by M...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Fish in dirty H2O , from Barbara Blue and it's solid. Opening with My Heart Belongs To The Blues , Barbara Blue is joined by Will McFarlane on guitar, Dave Smith on bass, Lester Snell on keys and Bernard Purdie on drums. With it's smooth smoky feel, Blue displays the richness of her deep voice. Boogie blues, Accidental Theft features some really nice slide work compliments of Scott Sharrard giving the track a thick gutsy texture to compliment Blues own gutsy vocals. Dr Jesus has a gospel style with warm backing vocals by Maureen Smith, Candace Mache, Lorina McMinn and Lynette "Sue" McCracklin and some spicy guitar accents by Michael Tols.  Shuffle,  Gravy Train has a sparky pace with plenty of horn by Lonnie McMillan on tenor sax, Marc Franklin on trumpet, Jim Spake on bari sax, and Steve Graham on trombone. Another bluesy shuffle, That's Working On Me works really nicely with Blues vocals and te...

I just received the newest release, Memphis Blue: Sweet, Strong, & Tight from Barbara Blue and it's got soul. Opening with J McShann's Hands Off, a rumbling R&B style track Barbara Blue gets it rolling taking the lead on vocal, and backed by Bobby Rush on harp, Jason Yasinsky on trombone, Joe Spake on bari sax, Lannie McMillan on sax, Marc Franklin on trumpet, David Smith on bass, Michael Tols on guitar, Rev Charles Hodges on B3, Lester Snell on whirlitzer and Steve Potts on drums. On No Time To Cry , Barbara gets a nice Kid Wilson swampy feel and with Ronnie Earl on guitar and backed by Shontelle Norman and Sharisse Norman on vocals, it's on of my favorites on the release. Two stepper, Rudy's Blues has real nice trumpet work from Dedrick Davis and a snappy beat, courtesy of Potts. Voodoo Woman has a real nice bass groove set in place by Smith and The Royal Horns punch up the track. Cody Dickinson adds washboard and Sonny Barbato spices it up with accord...