Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Bridge Street Blues , from Dave Thomas , and it's a solid blues rocker in the vein of Mayall or JJ Cale . Opening with Go To Legends , an easy flowing Cale like track Dave Thomas on vocal and guitar sits down in a groove, with nice guitar riffs that really work, and Declan Sinnott on drums holds it tight.  Gone For Good is a broken down country rocker that has super style. A trace of Neil Young with cool acoustic slide gives this track a memorable melody. Honey is a smooth as silk with some of Thomas' best vocals on the release in traditional blues style. Light acoustic guitar work by Thomas really works on this track. One of my favorite tracks on the release is blues rocker, I Know You Through and Through with a snappy drum rhythm by Sinnott. Thomas balances his soft spoken vocals with nice, round guitar tone solos, overlaid on his own guitar rhythm. Very cool. Wrapping the release is title track, Bridge Stre...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Road To The Blues , by Dave Thomas and it's a solid blues rock release. Opening with title track, Road To The Blues , Dave Thomas on lead vocal and guitar keeps it simple with a basic shuffle backed by Steve Jinks on bass and drums and James Goodwin on piano. Up tempo shuffle, Eye On The Money , has a lighter feel with cool guitar runs by Thomas and with the add of Michael Smith and Phil Marshall on sax, this track swings. Slower blues ballad, Another Girl is my favorite track on the release with soulful vocals by Thomas and really nice piano work by Goodwin. With a velvety pace and perfect piano phrasing, this track is tops. On After All These Years , a modern presentation of delta style blues, Thomas on guitar and vocal and backed by Gareth Tucker on harmonica and Jinks on bass and drums stretches a little on electric guitar giving the release just a little blues juice. Wrapping the release is Chuck Berry's, Memp...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, One More Mile , by Dave Thomas , and it's a strong mix of R&B, Soul rock and blues. Opening with BB King's It's My Own Fault , Dave Thomas on lead guitar and vocal is on top of his game with really front man vocals that work all day and really soulful lead work that makes you sit back and listen. With Terry Popple on drums, Dylan Aplvor on bass, Tom Arnold on Hammond, Norman Tischler on sax and Jeff Hager on trumpet, this is a terrific opener. Funky high stepper, I Like My Chicken Fried, is soul fused with a lot of horns. Thomas works the groove and with the Hammond work by Arnold and Hager's trumpet accents...cool track. Easy shuffle, I Want The Blues shows another side of Thomas' vocal work, with added harmonica and lighter rural style picking. Kicking into rock mode, Tony McPhee's Eccentric Man has a definite early British blues rock feel with aggressive guitar and drum work. Wrapping the re...