Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Temple of Blues II , from Cactus and it's strong blues rock...old school! Opening with Back Door Man Pt 1&2 , Eric Gales leads the way on vocal and guitr with Artie Dillon on rhythm guitar, Billy Sheehan on bass and featuring the driving drum work of Carmine Appice . Super. Pat Travers is featured on lead and slide guitar on Moanin' At Midnight with Ed Terry on vocal, Dillon on rhythm guitar, Jim Caputo on bass and Appice on organ and drums. Travers style really give the track a great bluesy feel, really grinding in. Very cool. Ron Bumblefoot Thal on guitar leads the way on Tokin Chokin' , a fun, country pop rocker with edge. Terry handles vocals and with plenty of splash cymbals by Appice, and Johnny Rod on bass, Bumblefoot really sails on slide. Tail Dragger has a Brit blues rock feel with Terry on vocal and Rockin Jake on harp. Appice's driving drum line with Rudy Sarzo on bass, gives guitarist ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Temple of Blues , from Cactus , and it's a strong blues rocker. Opening with Bukka White's Parchment Farm really rocks. Using Mayall's basic arrangement, Carmine Appice on drums really drives it hard with Billy Sheehan on bass, Jim McCarty on guitar, Joe Bonamassa on lead guitar and Jim Stapley on vocal and harp. Excellent opener. Willie Dixon's Evil gets a real nice heavy makeover with heavy weight drum work by Appice and great guitar lead by McCarty. Dug Pinnick on bass really sets the groove and Dee Snider on lead vocal is outrageous. Coopper and White's country anthem, No Need To Worry is now a slow blues with excellent vocal and guitar phrasing by Warren Haynes with Jorgen Carlsson on bass and Appice on drums. Cactus original (from their 70's album) Big Mama Boogie (Pts 1&2) is a great track with Appice in his own seat at drums and James Caputo on bass. Stapley on vocal and harp does a r...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Reimagining The Court of the Crimson King and it's a modern day replication of Fripp's early masterpiece. Opening with 21 Century Schizoid Man , Todd Rundgren and Arthur Brown on vocal is a bit more outrageous than Greg Lake's stellar vocals on the original release. Fripp who masterminded everything that KC did played guitar beautifully on the original yet Chris Poland pushes the envelope yet further. Michael Giles, who plays drums on the original track I always thought did a masterful job yet Ian Paice really does a nice job here as well and the addition of Mel Collins on sax really is a great touch. Excellent! One of my favorites form the original composition is I Talk To The Wind with Jakko M Jakszyk on vocal, guitar and keys and he really does a nice job. Django Jakszyk on flute holds the sub melody. Very nice. Danny Faulkner has the lead on Epitaph and really carries it well. Joe Lynn Turner sings Moonch...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Monster's Ball, from Arthur Brown and it's a cool, twisted blues rocker. Opening with Lucifer Sam , a driving rocker, Brown is joined by Ian Paice on drums, Steve Hillage on guitars, Fernando Perdomo on Hammond, Mellotron and bass and James Booth on guitar. On Jack Bruce's I Feel Free , Brown uses his own style on Bruce like vocal and Cream's arrangement. Joining Brown are  James Williamson on guitar, Rat Scabies on drums and Jurgen Engler on bass. Arthur Brown's 60's hit, Fire is up next and with only minimal changes in arrangement, Brown rolls this one out in full power. Backed by James Williamson on guitar, Carmine Appice on drums, Brian Auger on organ and Engler on bass, this track still rocks. Wrapping the release is ELP's Karn Evil #9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2 and with Brown's own twists in the arrangement, it's cool to hear this old track played with enthusiasm from Jordan Rudess ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Animals Reimagined: A Tribute To Pink Floyd and it's quite interesting. Opening with Pigs On The Wing, Part 1, Cutting Crew vocalist, Nick Crew is paired with Jethro Tull's Martin Barre for an ethereal acoustic intro that nicely wets the appetite. The first of three major compositions on the release, (17 minute) Dogs, features Rainbow's Graham Bonnet on lead vocal, UFO's Vinnie Moore on guitar, Utopia bassist Kasim Sulton, Dream Theater key player Jordan Rudess and King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto. This is a really cool idea of bringing together contemporary progressive players to reinterpret these masterpieces. We've got a different lineup for the 2nd of the major compositions, (11 and a half minute) Pigs (Three Different Ones) including Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie, Return To Forever and major solo artist Al DiMeola on guitar, Blue Oyster Cult bassist Joe Bouchard, Moody Blues  key player Par...