Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Roadhouses, Juke joints and Honky-Tonks, from Rusty Ends and it's swampy, blues rock. Opening with Bad Like Billy The Kid, has a Tony Joe White feel with it's easy rock rhythm. With Rusty Ends on vocal and guitar, Dave Zirnheld on bass, Gene Wickliffe on drums and Wayne Young on guitar, this is a cool opener. Ballad, Lost In The Blues features Ends on lead vocal and strumming lush chords leading the track in step for that perfect slow dance. Rocker, Rockabilly Train is stripped down and raggedy with a solid beat. Featuring Ends on vocal and guitar and Roosevelt Purifoy on piano this is a a solid straight up rocker. I particularly like The Worm's Turned with it's surf flavored guitar flair. Ends' vocals are aloof and his guitar playing nicely stylized giving the track just the right amount of attitude. Slow and easy, Midnight Screams showcases Ends and Wayne Young on guitar laying down one of the deepest ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Groove Me Baby, by Lady J Huston and it's a cool set of blues, R&B and soul. Opening with Your Call , a cool shuffle with Lady J Huston on lead vocal, complimented by Adrea Rohlehr on backing vocal, Ben Shafer on tenor sax, Darryl Bassett on lead guitar, Frank Dunbar on bass, James Gugle on drums, Jason Cooper on lead guitar, and M. Lew Winer III on bari sax. Huston plays a cool flugelhorn on Tearing Me Apart , a nice slower blues ballad, with Anna C. Allen on backing vocal. Very nice. With a light Latin rhythm on, Corona You Make Me Sick!, Huston mixes it up and adds a sweet trumpet solo. With Dunbar on bass, Winer III on tenor sax and Nichaus Iv on lead guitar, a real cool track. Pure R&B oozes on title track, Groove Me Baby . Adding synth herself, and joined by Rohlehr on backing vocals, with Ashton Channing Proctor on rhythm guitar, Shafer on flute, Bwayne Smotherson on backing vocals, Charles Smotherson ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent self titled release from Rusty Ends Blues Band and it's a cool blues rocker. Opening with What's Next, a crisp, up tempo shuffle, Rusty Ends on lead vocal and guitar pairs up with some muscular harmonica work by Jim Rosen and backed by Dave Zirnheld on bass and Gene Wickliffe on drums. Cool opener. Secrets In The Street has a warmer feel with  Rod Wurtele on B3 and a fluid guitar lead by Ends. With a bit of a Freddie King, Sinner's Strut is a cool shuffle with Ends leading the way on guitar harmony and with Danny Kelly on drums and added percussion by Barry Shaw. Slower blues, Something Wrong Going Wrong , gives Ends a chance to showcase his blues phrasing. Hi vocal styling reminds me a bit of Mike Bloomfield. One of my favorite tracks on the release is rocker, I'm Searching , with it's driving bottom, Wurtele on piano, solid vocals by Ends and relentless harmonica by Rosen. Latin rhythm permeates High Beams ...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Tryin' To Get Home , from Andy Cohen and it's a cool, rural blues release. Opening with Blind Boy Fuller's Step It Up And Go , Andy Cohen wastes no time in showing that he's a serious student of the blues and a solid vocalist. His finger picking work is strong and his vocal delivery perfect. Excellent opener. Cohen shows broad versatility sitting behind the piano on Louis Jay Meyers Memorial Stomp . This is a really nice piano blues and with great feel, and a strong composition by Cohen. Another Cohen original, Puffin' That Stuff is one of my favorites on the release. A short finger picked guitar rag, this track will be a favorite in concert and on the disc. Very cool. Mississippi John Hurt's Talkin' Casey , is a classic blues story track with Cohen punctuating Casey's story with acoustic slide. Very nice. Reverend Gary Rag is a great tune and a cool tribute to Davis by Cohen. With his fl...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, One More Foot In The Quicksand , from Les Copeland and it's honest. Opening with blues rocker, Change Of Pace , Les Copeland sets up on lead vocal and guitar, backed by Cameron Ward on bass and Scott Grant on drums. On Big Bill Broonzy's When I Been Drinking , Copeland goes it alone with electric guitar. This is a particularly cool tract with solid vocals and excellent country blues style guitar accompaniment. Very cool. Freddie King's Woman Across The River gets a real funky edge. The base arrangement remains intact but Copeland's added funk gives it a really fresh feel. Copeland lays in some real nice riffs and Ward's bass lines are excellent. Another cool, country style blues track, Perfect Man Like You , blends solid vocals by Copeland, backed by flat picking and slide guitar overlays. Very nice. Slow blues number, Uncle To Aunt, gives Copeland a real nice opportunity to just stretch and show h...

I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, Road Be Kind , from Andy Cohen and it's quite interesting. Opening with Five and Ten Cent Blues , Andy Cohen shows when he get his impeccable reputation as a blues man and finger picker. Rich acoustic guitar tones and fluid picking makes this a great opener. Seldom Seen Slim is a cool country ballad written by Luke Baldwin. Short and sweet, a cool pictoral ballad. Sonny Terry's Spread The News Around is another terrific display of Cohen's finger work. Title track, Road Be Kind , is a solid ballad by Scott Alarik. A nice balance between vocal and guitar accompaniment. John D Loudermilk's instrumental, Windy and Warm is playful and rich. Cohen's guitar work is well structured and nicely executed. More Wood is one of my favorite tracks on the release with a happy little melody and deep acoustic guitar feel. Steve Fromholtz's High Country Caravan is a solemn ballad with Cohen laying it all out there v...

I just received the newest release, To Be In Your Company , from Les Copeland and it's lively and entertaining. Copeland, Honeyboy Edwards' traveling companion, working partner and student for 15 years, has released his second collection and this one's a doozy. Opening with title track, To Be In Your Company , Copeland sings about his friend, Honeyboy as he lays down a rudimentary Piedmont style pattern on acoustic and soloing over the top on electric guitar. Very nice. Slipping and sliding on acoustic, Borderline tells the story of crossing and being detained in border towns. Stealin' has a certain period styling and a mellow acoustic sound. I particularly like Copeland's vocals on this track with a bit of loose vocal improvisation. Henry Townsend's Why We Love Each Other has a really nice meter, with Cat Wells joining on harmony. Knucklehead is a track about the interplay between Copeland and his wife, Sarah. With his Herb Ellis hollow body tuned to o...

I just received the newest release, Angels Sing The Blues featuring performances by Liz Mandeville, Mary Lane, Al Short, Shirley Johnson and Johnny Drummer and it's cool! Opening with Al "Guitar" Short on the Johnny Guitar Watson track, A Real Mother For Ya , backed by Johnny Drummer on keys, Walter Scott on rhythm guitar, Anthony Palmer on lead guitar, Kenny Hampton on bass, Tino Cortes on drums this release starts off with a kicking funk. Danny O'Connor takes the mic on Cold Women With Warm Hearts and a rolling James Brown rhythm driven by O'Connor's own bass lead. Very nice! Johnny Drummer is up next and a slick guitar intro by Palmer opens Gonna Sell My Cadillac, Buy Myself A Mule . This track has a great feel with extended guitar work by Palmer and Drummers vocals are tight, complimented by his own harp work. Slowing it down a bit, Drummer leads a low slung groove in easy style. Palmer steps up with some real nice riffs on this track giving it a rea...

I just received the newest release, 25 Year Retrospective , from Tommy McCoy and it's exceptional! Opening with The King Is Gone , a really nice tribute to BB King structured along the lines of The Thrill Is Gone. McCoy really does a nice job of capturing the spirit of BB and the band, with McCoy on vocal and guitar, Theodore Alexiou on guitar, Demetris Georgopoulos on bass, John Dinoulas on drums and Kostas Tenezos on harp is spot on. R&B track, I Got A Reason , has a light pop feel and features Babis Tsitivigos on sax. The Change Is In has more of a rock feel but maintaining a bit of R&B. Mark McCoy on bass, Calvin Cratic on guitar, John Street on keys and Pat Geoffrey on keys set a nice stage for a fine biting guitar solo from McCoy on guitar, nicely complimenting his vocal led melody. Blues driver, No Love Without Any Green , has a great rhythm line fed my Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton. McCoy rips a hot guitar solo on this track with a crisp drumming and solid bass...

I just received the newest release, Bad Attitude , from Johnny Drummer and it's really good. Opening with funky R&B style Is It Love Or Is It Lust , with James Brown style and nice horn backing from Rodney "Hotrod" Brown on sax and Kenny Anderson on trumpet. On Chicago style blues track, Drummer has a familiar story with Another Rooster Is Pecking My Hen . A clever lyric and warm horn basics make this a cool track. Drummer takes a nice harp solo on this track and Anthony Palmer is right in there with some slick riffs on guitar. Bit Her In The Butt has a real cool funky feel along the lines of JG Watson. Title track Bad Attitude is a cool shuffle track leading off with Palmer laying down an easy stroll. Drummer has a nice delivery on vocal and Palmer keeps the riffs coming making this a real natural track. Make You Happy has a R&B feel in the most traditional sense. Authentic era horns bring up the rear and although Drummer doesn't have Al Green's voic...

I just received the newest release, Barrelhouse Stomp , from Chris James and Patrick Rynn and it's a roller! Opening with contemporary Chicago style blues track, Goodbye, Later For You , in traditional fashion, Rynn and James open the release featuring super harp support from Rob Stone and piano work from Aaron Moore. James is always solid on vocals and he lays down nicely phrased riffs on guitar. Just Another Kick In The Teeth has a funky swing to it featuring Eddie Shaw on sax (as well as Jonny Viau, Norbert W Johnson) and Jody Williams on guitar. Viau opens I Feel So Good with a honkin good sax solo and James does a nice job of delivering on this classic blues track with contributions from Willie Big Eyes Smith (drums) and Aarom Moore on piano. Messin' With White Lightning has a spankin quick pace and Jody and James are on it with guitar riffs. Hot piano riffs from David Maxwell highlight this track and Willie Hayes is tight on drums. On slower paced swing track, Befo...

  Blind Raccoon & Earwig Music Showcase Friday, May 10, 2 - 8:15 p.m. Purple Haze Night Club, Downtown Memphis, One Block South of B.B. King's on Second Featuring Andy Cohen, Leo Hull, Tommy McCoy, Guitar Mikey RB Stone, Johnny Drummer & Chris James and Patrick Rynn Blues Hall of Fame Tribute Jam Wednesday, May 8, 10 p.m. onwards B.B. King's on Beale, Memphis Yellow Dog Records All Star Showcase Thursday, May 9, 12:45 - 3:45 p.m. B.B. King's on Beale, Memphis VizzTone Label Group's Blues Party On Beale Friday, May 10, 10 p.m. onwards Rum Boogie on Beale, Memphis ...

Just got a copy of Cotton Field of Dreams, the new release by Albert Bashor. The recording contains 14 original tracks and features a number of stars including Pat Travers, Bill Payne and Ron Holloway. The opening track, Jukin' Down On Johnson Street has a Latin feel but turns to a full swing on the chorus. The track gives you a genuine feel of the trip and has cool slide work of a pro. Rockin' Red Rooster is modeled after an Elmore James track and gets groovin' pretty fast.Bill Payne can be heard driving the piano throughout the song. Poodle Ribs is a funky rocker and Ron Holloway screamin' away on his sax is a nice contrast to Payne on piano. Put Me On Like You Do is a slower blues track with an acoustic feel with dobro and harp. So Blue has more of a pop blues construction to it and would be my choice for airplay. Holloway takes a real nice sax solo in this track and Shady Jones also guest vocals on this track which provides a nice compliment to the overall flavor....