Bman's Blues Report

 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 received the newest release (October 29, 2013), Still Climbing , from Leslie West and it has exactly what you listen to a Leslie West for.... gutsy vocals, a driving beat and flaming guitars! Opening with Dyin' Since The Day I Was Born , West is wide open on his amp, all volume controls and his vocals. With a strong metal influence, West shows all of the patience of a freight train with grinding riffs and pinched harmonics. Busted, Disgusted or Dead takes a more moderate pace with flashy sliding blues riffs from West and long time slideman Johnny Winter. Fade Into You is a 3/4 ballad with a solid melody giving West the opportunity to fire up his vocal chords and a wide open door to bust down with powerful fat guitar riffs. Real nice! Not Over You At All has a real cool intro with the smokin sound of an overdriven tube amp. Surprisingly a sax solo on this track takes a different direction than I would typically associate with West. A cool melodic guitar solo which I do ...