Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Trouble Is...25 , from Kenny Wayne Shepherd and it's great to hear. A release and reinterpretation of his second release, Trouble Is, Trouble Is ...25 sounds pretty fresh. Opening with Slow Ride , KWS really gets the program started with great vocals,  high energy blues riffs, and excellent sustain. With Chris Layton on drums, Kevin McCormick on bass and Reese Wynans on keys, this is a strong opener. Laid back, Everything Is Broken , anchored by Layton, has great drive and KWS shows all of the southern guitar spunk he has accumulated during his career. (Long) Gone has terrific Texas style swagger with hot guitar riffs and the addition of harmonica on this track really pumps it up. Classic, Somehow, Somewhere, Someday is just slow (fast) enough to really hit the groove. Wynans keyboard adds real tension and KWS's guitar work is stinging. Wrapping the release is Bob Dylan's fabulous Ballad of a Thin Man and KWS...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Man of the World: The Peter Green Story and it's riveting. Many blues fan have been listening to the original Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Peter Green for a long time and most have seen video clips of their performances but this release is seriously great! Rather than paste together more clips with music that may or may not be released, this film takes a totally new direction playing Peter Green's music in full fidelity between and behind excellent candid interviews with John Mayall, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Peter's brothers and many others. This film is focused and fresh, showing the band as it was ... up close and really personal questions regarding Green, his talent, his problems and how the band Fleetwood Mac got it's name. It's tormented yet sensitive. It's done in an organized fashion so that it's easy to follow but not oversimpli...

Man Of the World - The Peter Green Story coming to home video on November 18th The incredible story of the man who formed Fleetwood Mac After replacing the legendary Eric Clapton in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers , Peter went on to form Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac , one of the most successful bands to come out of Britain in the 60's. Peter's genius on the guitar was matched by the songs he wrote including Black Magic Woman , later a huge debut hit for Santana, and the supernatural and sublime instrumental Albatross , as well as the classic Oh Well . The film traces that early success, explores Peter's drug use and his eternal spiral into schizophrenia. The film also examines how the treatment he received (Electroconvulsive therapy or ECT) prolonged his illness and extended absence from the music scene. The story continues with Peter's fragile mental and artistic re...

I just had the opportunity to review the new release, Last of the Mississippi Juke Joints, a film by Robert Mugge and it's really interesting. This film chronicled the days of Jimmy King's legendary Subway Lounge in Jackson Mississippi and the early days of Morgan Freeman's and Bill Luckett's Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale Mississippi, a heartfelt attempt at recapturing the spirit of fading juke joint traditions. This film documents interviews with Morgan Freeman and Bill Luckett and Dick Waterman, famed music photographer. The first live set is with Alvin Youngblood Hart with Sam Carr and Anthony Sherrod. Hart's performance is super as always with a great voice and pure slide techniques. Showing the real flavor of a juke joint, Luckett and Freeman point out beer signs, pool tables, antiques signs, flea market tables, mis matched table cloths and catfish sandwiches, all the things that make a juke joint feel authentic. This is no city blues club. This is t...

Last Of The Mississippi Jukes Special Edition DVD coming  on 10/21 Robert Mugge's stunning exploration of fading juke joint traditions at the heart of  Mississippi blues culture, with Morgan Freeman "American roots music at its most soulful and authentic. Excellent." -  Boston Phoenix "This wonderful documentary [is] a definite good buy for blues fans." -  Jazz & Blues Report "One of the most important Mississippi music films ever made." -  Planet Weekly (Jackson, MS)  LAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI JUKES is Robert Mugge's exploration of Mississippi juke joints, the rustic, often dilapidated music venues where, early in the last century, itinerant blues musicians played for plantation workers and others, creating a powerful new music which soon migrated to Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit, and elsewhere. Of course, even as thi...

I just received the newest instructional blues book, Chicago Blues Rhythm Guitar... The Complete and Definitive Guide by Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin and Dave Rubin and it has it all. This book starts at the beginning with simple tips on setup and history. Then as you start to get into the tablature, it's all written out there for you, beginning with a boogie shuffle on the bass strings.What's really cool is they go further and show it's application in a way that you know how to apply it. Sliding 9ths never sounded so easy. These give the track fullness say like on Stormy Monday. Comping gives your track a Freddie Green richness. And flat tire that odd note out used quite effectively by SRV on Pride and Joy. The box shuffle is a standard of Buddy Guy for example. Once you understand the root it makes it soo much easier to fill. Jimmy Reeds "two beat" style is also covered. Next E major and A Major keys are covered with basic runs. On this you can build th...

"MUDDY WOLF AT RED ROCKS" JOE BONAMASSA’S TRIBUTE TO MUDDY WATERS AND HOWLIN’ WOLF RELEASED ON DVD, BLU-RAY, VINYL & CD ON MONDAY 23rd MARCH 2015 "They always try to write off the blues; well we’ve proven tonight that at least 9,000 people like the blues," says celebrated blues rock master Joe Bonamassa who releases "Joe Bonamassa – Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks" on DVD , Blu-ray and CD set on March 23, 2015 . The exclusive concert experience, which is a tribute to blues legends Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf , was filmed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre over Labor Day weekend in 2014. Joe Bonamassa "Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks" Album Trailer Carved into the bedrock of Colorado’s majestic Rocky Mountains , the famed amphitheatre sets the stage for Bonamassa’s fiery delivery of over 2.5 hours of bluesy guitar-wailing and horn-filled tunes honouring the two Bl...

My old pal Stilladog had a chance to listen to the new Jeff Beck DVD audio and his review follows. We have both been Beck fans for a long time so I was thrilled to see his review: The recordings take place at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Japan on April 9th of this year.   These Japanese recordings were the first to feature Beck’s new backing band of Jonathan Joseph (drums), Nicolas Meier (guitars) and Rhonda Smith (bass). The setlist includes some material from his new, as yet unreleased, studio album as well as material from nearly all of his previous releases. In contrast to Beck s previous videos done in small clubs, Live In Tokyo was filmed in a major concert arena and has a very different, more spacious feel.   Beck has released a number of live albums from Japan over the years and he obviously feels comfortable there. The set begins with a tune from his most recent EP, Yosogai, entitled Loaded .   It is a perfect warm up for the alternately beautiful...

I just received the newest release, Songs From The Road from Dana Fuchs and it's quite dynamic. Recorded Live at Highline Ballroon in New York City, Fuchs opens with Bliss Avenue . Fuchs hits the stage hard with a dramatic vocal entrance and a stinging tele solo from Jon Diamond really turned my head. Next up is Handful Too Many , a track showing a lot of commercial potential with a pinch of country and warm backing from Elaine Caswell, Nicki Richards and Bettie Sussman (The Screaming Sirens). Livin' On Sunday is a really cool track with a funky revival back beat. The "Screaming Sirens" really give it that extra edge and may be one of my favorite tracks on the release. How Did Things Get This Way really has a Stones feel and Fuch's "Pearl" like vocals shine through. Diamond is again hitting the frets hard this time on Les Paul but this track is a hard driven rocker. R&B track So Hard To Move is a really nice ballad and both the solid bass work...

I've had the opportunity to review Hal Leonard's release, Smokin' Blues Guitar featuring Smokin' Joe Kubek. This is a well prepared and clearly illustrated instructional video and accompanied lesson book. The chapters are Licks, Riffs, Turnarounds, Rhythm, Slide and a section aimed directly at capturing the essence of some of the best blues players. I personally went through the book and video and found some of the lessons quite easy and some very challenging. This is a book that you could play with for a long time and continue to learn something each time through. Although no instructional program has all of the answers, this is a very interesting lesson which has keys that could assist any player trying to develop your blues and guitar skills. Kubek illustrates each of his points clearly and even shows you a number of his secrets. The last portion of the program is a feature which looks at the style of the following players: T-Bone Walker, Gatemouth Brown, John lee ...

Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of Heart's concert "FANATIC LIVE FROM CAESARS COLOSSEUM" on CD+DVD Deluxe Edition, DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on Monday 24th February 2014. The history behind this recording began in 2012, which was a year of major achievements for Heart. In addition to Ann and Nancy’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and news that they had been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the year was filed with musical accomplishments.  Heart - Nancy Wilson (guitar) and Ann Wilson (lead vocals) Wilson combed their archives for a definitive four CD box set release in the early part of the year, and in the fall of 2012, released their "Fanatic" album to strong critical and fan acclaim.  To support the release of "Fanatic," the band embarked upon a major North American headline tour, which ended with a magnificent performance at Caesars Colosseum in Windsor, Ontario, whic...