CLICK ON TITLE BELOW TO GO TO PURCHASE!!!!
CD submissions accepted! Guest writers always welcome!!
I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!
I just had the chance to review the new 3 CD set, 40 Years of Stony Plain and it's a super bag of super recordings and unreleased music.
CD One called Singers, Songwriters and much more features tracks by Colin Linden; Spirit of the West; Corb Lund; Doug Sham; Harry Manx & Kevin Breit; Emmylou Harris; James Burton, Albert Lee, Amos Garrett, David Wilcox; New Guitar Summit; Rodney Crowell; Valdy & Gary Fjellgaard; Jr. Gone Wild; Tom Hus; Ian Tyson; Jennifer Warnes; Steve Earle; & Eric Bibb featuring Taj Mahal, The Blind Boys of Alabama and Ruthie Foster. This CD has a real rural feel with folk, country and grassy feel. Louis Riel by Doug Sham is a super track with a Tex Mex country sound. Rockabilly, That's Alright by James Burton and crew is another standout. New Guitar Summit's Flying Home throws a bit of swing jazz in with super nice flavor. Tim Hus's Wild Rose Waltz has real traditional country feel and is pure as snow. Eric Bibb and crew deliver a really rural rural Needed Time featuring Taj Mahal on vocals and breaking into a very sophisticated gospel style track . This is an excellent closer for Dics 1.
CD Two called Blues, R&B, Gospel, Swing Jazz and even more is full of huge names. Kenny "Bues Boss" Wayne, Joe Louis Walker, Rosco Gordon, Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, Mauria Muldair featuring Taj Mahal, Long John Baldry, Paul Reddick, Monkeyjunk, Jay McShann, Jeff Healey, Billy Boy Arnold, Rory Block, Big Dave McLean, Ruthie Foster, Sonny Rhodes, Jim Byrnes, Amos Garrett, Ellen McIlwaine,and king Biscuit Boy. Opening with Blues Boss on Bankrupted Blues and followed by Joe Louis Walker on Eyes Like a Cat this CD is smoking right off the top. Ronnie Earl gets a classic blues going on It Takes Time and a more contemporary blues rocker Monkeyjunk rips on Mother's Crying. Jay McShann has a really nice blues/jazz run on Goin' To Chicago and Big Dave McLean's Atlanta Moan is masterful. Ruthie Foster is one of the new artists that is in a class on her own, delivering on Keep Your Big Mouth Closed and Sonny Rhodes shuffle track, Meet Me At The 10th Street Inn in a slick blues romp. Wrapping disc 2 is King Biscuit Boy's Blue Light Boogie... always a favorite.
CD Three is Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material opening with hot potato Ain't Gonna Do It by Duke Robillard. In My Girlish Days shows Maria Muldaur really grinding in her classic seductive style followed by her classic I Belong To The Band. David Wilcox really does a great job on acoustic instrumental, Uptown Bump, followed by 2 super tracks, I Hate That train and All Night Long by the terrific Sam Chatmon and his Barbeque Boys. Wrapping this disc and the entire package is Walter "Shakey" Horton with Hot Cottage playing a deep fried Shakey's Edmonton Blues. This is an excellent closer for a really super set. Congratulations to Stony Plain for assembling a great package.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
I just received the newest release, The Happiest Man In The World, from Eric Bibb and North County Far with Danny Thompson and it's quite fun. Opening with title track, The Happiest Man In The World, Eric Bibb creates his upbeat blues style with a rural flair joined by Danny Thompson on upright bass, Ollie Haavisto on slide guitars and Janne Haavisto on drums and percussion. Toolin' Down The Road is a really cool track with a nice weave of acoustic instruments bringing instant comparison in my mind to early Ry Cooder work. Very nice. I'll Farm For You has a cool little guitar riff and Bibbs superb vocals supported by light but intriguing slide work. Tossin' And Turnin' has a real smooth feel a nice blend of acoustic and resonator guitar work and upright bass and features Petri Hakala on fiddle. Creole Cafe' has a real nice 3/4 time making it one of my favorite tracks on the release. Bibb really has a nice voice and with lightly appointed mando work, this track is super. With a light funk, Born To Be Your Man, has a bit more drum and jazzy instrumentation giving it a fuller sound. Prison Of Time is a really strong ballad with a lightly salted Hawaiian feel. King Size Bed has a Piedmont style and a happy go lucky feel. With light percussion, a cool mandolin solo and nice slide, another favorite on the release. 1912 Skiing Disaster is a nicely textured instrumental. With it's solid melody and beautiful bass lines by Thompson, balanced against Bibb's acoustic guitar and Olli on slide this track is excellent! Wish I Could Hold You Now is a solemn ballad featuring Petri's mando and Olli on slide providing a beautiful canvas for Bibb's extremely sensitive vocals. Instrumental, Blueberry Boy, is very nicely crafted, again showing superb bass lines, articulate guitar work and a cool Irish whistle solo by Mary Murphy. Wrapping the release is Ray Davies' You Really Got Me. One of my all time favorite rock tracks, Bibb gives it a sensitivity that I suspect never entered Davies head when he was writing it. Pepe Ahlquist on harp and Michael Jerome Browne add nicely to this total blowout of this classic rock track (with a surprise country blues acoustic guitar finish). Very nice closer.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
Stony Plain Records Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary
with Special 3-CD Set of Music Including Rarities and Previously Unreleased
Tracks on June 3rd
EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records, Canada’s premier
roots music label, announces a June 3rd release date for a special 3-CD set, 40
Years of Stony Plain, which includes cuts from its illustrious history
of albums, as well as a complete disc of rarities and previously unreleased
tracks.
“Celebrating Stony Plain’s 40th Anniversary
by putting together this specially priced three CD set has been a joy,” writes
label founder/president Holger Petersen in the album package. “Not only going
back over those years and selecting some of our favorite tracks, but to also
dig deeper to find rare and previously unreleased material by old friends Eric
Bibb, Duke Robillard, Maria Muldaur, David Wilcox, the late Bob Carpenter,
Walter ‘Shakey’ Horton and the legendary Sam Chatmon and His Barbeque Boys from
1979. With extensive notes and packaging, this stunning collection of 47 songs
will be a joyful surprise for true music fans everywhere.”
Long-time
label friend and celebrated Canadian publicist Richard Flohil contributes an
insightful timeline to Stony Plain’s history and contributions to the music
industry in his liner notes.
“As
I write, I realize that this is the seventh time that I’ve written this
opening sleeve note for a collection of music tracks for a Stony Plain Records
compilation,” states Flohil. “What’s ‘new’ in the history of this unique
Canadian roots music label? Answer: Not much — except, amazingly, that Stony
Plain’s still here, still releasing new music. And that it’s the oldest
independent record company (in Canada) that’s persevered for four decades with
the same ownership.
“Every
five years, starting with the label’s 10th anniversary, Stony Plain
has released a compilation of new and old material from the vaults. And every
five years, an opening sleeve note introduces (or re-introduces) the Stony
Plain story to the people who are listening to the music.”
Recognized
worldwide for its consistent quality roots and blues releases, one of Stony
Plains early fans was legendary Atlantic Records music producer and label
executive Jerry Wexler, who singled out the independent label for praise.
“The
Independent Label is the soul of the record biz; on one hand the fount and
nurturer of the new and untested, the eschewer of the Commercial Compromise,”
said Wexler. “On the other, it is the Enunciator of the Gospel of Low Overhead.
Behold the Stony Plain catalogue, not large but lapidary, and wonder how
(Holger Petersen) has done it with such small staff. And he always returns my
phone calls. He has a wonderful label, he presents wonderful music, and I
congratulate him.”
Stony
Plain Records has earned 6 Grammy nominations and a shelf full of Canadian
accolades, including 11 Juno Awards, some 20 Maple Blues Awards, and Canadian
Country Music Association awards as well. The Blues Foundation named Stony
Plain as the 2014 label of the year, and Holger Petersen as broadcaster of the
year in 2008. This year, he marks his 30th year as the host of Saturday
Night Blues, nationally broadcast every week on CBC Radio; he also
continues to host Natch’l Blues each week on CKUA after 47 years.
“Since
1976, Stony Plain has reflected its owners’ eclectic tastes, survived, and
continues to release vibrant, substantive music,” Richard Flohil writes. “The
label’s genesis goes back a little further than that — Petersen has been a
music addict since he was a little kid, and his enthusiasms have led him (often
simultaneously) in a variety of different directions.
“Petersen’s
also earned two honorary doctorate degrees from Athabasca University and the
University of Alberta, and — most important of all — was inducted into the
Order of Canada, the country’s highest civil honor, for his services to
Canadian culture in 2003.
“Having
released more than 400 albums since the label began at the kitchen table of a
suburban Edmonton house, Stony Plain continues to flourish. Amid dire
predictions of recorded music’s demise over the years, Stony Plain is still
here, thanks to the determination and enthusiasm of the people that founded the
label and those who work there. And Holger Petersen, at 66, is still having fun
and still finding artists and music and songs that turn him on and which he
thinks will appeal to people who care about the roots of popular music.”
For A Tour of the Stony Plain Offices: Produced by The Image Works, Connie Edwards and Doug
Cole.
Tasty Country
Blues Musical Gumbo Teams Award-Winning Roots Musician and North Country Far
with Legendary Bassist Danny Thompson
EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records has set a May 6 release
date for The Happiest Man in the World, the latest album from
award-winning roots musician Eric Bibb, which teams him up with the group North
Country Far and legendary bassist Danny Thompson.
The Happiest Man in the World is a 14-track
tasty gumbo of country blues songs recorded in the English countryside with an
exuberant, soulful spirit that feels like the perfect soundtrack for relaxing
on the back porch or the front parlor. Led by multiple Blues Music Award-winner
Eric Bibb, this stellar acoustic band is made up of musicians who have known
each other for years. It features famed upright bassist Danny Thompson, whose
resume includes work with such acclaimed artists as Alexis Korner, Donovan,
Richard Thompson (no relation), Pentangle and John Martyn. The album also
includes a bonus instrumental track, “King Size Bed,” which is available only
in the Deluxe digital edition.
To celebrate the release of the new CD, Eric Bibb and the
band created a special video EPK about its making that can be viewed bekow:
In the liner notes for The Happiest Man in the World,
Eric Bibb talks about how the album came together. “Some years ago, when I was
living in Helsinki, I had the good fortune of meeting the Haavisto brothers –
Janne, a very groovy drummer, and Olli, a wonderful dobro and pedal steel
player. In addition to being fine musicians, both of them are experienced
recording engineers. We became friends and began working together on various
recording projects. Olli introduced me to Petri Hakala. He not only plays great
mandolin & mandola, he also makes his own instruments! We started playing
gigs advertised as Eric Bibb and North Country Far. Like most musicians, we
began sharing road stories, telling tall tales and name-dropping. At some point
I mentioned that a few years back I’d had a chance to tour with Danny Thompson,
the legendary bassist. Fast-forward. One day, during a recording session, Olli
said, ‘It would be great to make a record with Danny – he’s one of my heroes.
Any chance?’
“And it happened - because it was meant to be! We met at The
Grange (a residential studio where I’d recorded an album years before) near
Norfolk, England. Together, for a few days in the month of July, with veteran
sound engineer Dave Williams at the console, we experienced something
beautifully friendly and elevating. I’d do it again in a heartbeat!”
The Happiest Man in the World continues Eric
Bibb’s tradition of versatility in expressing his musical craft. His last
album, the universally-acclaimed Lead Belly’s Gold, was a tribute
to the iconic bluesman that saw Bibb join forces with French harmonica master
JJ Milteau for an album of songs recorded at famed Paris jazz club, The Sunset,
as well as five new studio recordings.
Eric Bibb’s career spans over five decades, 36 albums,
countless radio and TV shows and non-stop tours, making him one of the leading
bluesmen of his generation. Bibb tours regularly throughout the world and
already has dates booked at both showcase venues and festivals throughout the
spring and summer in the USA and Canada.
The Happiest
Man in the World – Track Listing
1.The Happiest Man In The World / Words & Music by
Eric Bibb, BMG/Chrysalis
2.Toolin’ Down The Road / Words & Music by Eric
Bibb, BMG/Chrysalis
3.I’ll Farm For You / Words & Music by Eric Bibb,
BMG/Chrysalis
4.Tossin’ An’ Turnin’ / Words & Music by Eric Bibb,
BMG/Chrysalis
5.Creole Café / Words & Music by Eric Bibb &
Ulrika Pontén Bibb, BMG/Chrysalis
6.Born To Be Your Man / Words & Music by Eric Bibb,
BMG/Chrysalis
7.Prison Of Time / Words by Eric Bibb & Wendell
Berry, Music by Eric Bibb, BMG/Chrysalis
8.King Size Bed / Words & Music by Eric Bibb,
BMG/Chrysalis
9.On The Porch / Words by Wendell Berry (from The
Sabbath Poems 1979-1997 “They Sit Together On The Porch”, 1994), Music by Eric
Bibb, BMG/Chrysalis
10.1912 Skiing Disaster (instrumental) / Music by Olli
Haavisto & Petri Hakala
11.Tell Ol’ Bill / Traditional/Arr. by E. Bibb
12.Wish I Could Hold You Now / Words & Music by Eric
Bibb, BMG/Chrysalis
13.Blueberry Boy (instrumental) / Music by Eric Bibb,
BMG/Chrysalis
14.You Really Got Me / Words & Music by Ray Davies,
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
15.(Bonus track: King Size Bed - Instrumental bonus
track)
I just received the newest release, Lead Belly's Gold, from Eric Bibb & JJ Milteau and it's pure gold! This release, composed mostly of traditional and Lead Belly originals is spiced with a few originals by Bibb and Milteau. Opening with Grey Goose, Bibb handles vocals with only basic percussion by Larry Crockett, his own guitar accompaniment and Milteau on harp. With a light hearted approach the song seems to float. A medley of When That Train Comes Along/ Swing Low Sweet Chariot features some of the best vocal work that I have heard from Bibb. Soft, heartfelt and sensuous, backed by expressive harp work from Milteau. Very nice. On A Monday has a really nice gait. With it's playful nature, Michael Robinson.s backing vocals and Cajun flare it almost seems a celebration of a prison song. The House Of The Rising Sun has an eerie serenity that I have never heard from this track. Bibb's rich vocals and Milteau's melodic harp work seem the perfect match for this beautiful track. Back in a Cajun feel, Midnight Special retains much of the rock beat that it has come to be associated with but keeps a fresh sound. Bring A Little Water, Sylvie has a light Piedmont feel with Bibb's vocals and Milteau's harp just riding lightly on the melody like a cloud. Addition of bass by Gilles Michael and drums by Crockett on Where Did You Sleep Last Night gives it a very clean aesthetic with only Bibb on vocal and Milteau on harp. Very nice. Pick A Bale of Cotton falls very close to the original Lead Belly arrangement with solid vocal and guitar enhanced by harp and drums. Maintaining much of the waltz feel of Goodnight, Irene, Bibb adds a soulful vocal and Milteau nicely compliments his vocals on harp with nicely accented snare work by Crockett. Rock Island Line is a blues rocker with a train feel. Given that little bit of extra spice, this track delivers. Bourgeois Blues is another of my favorite tracks on the release with it's low slung delivery and pure blues feel. Milteau lays in a really sweet harp solo over Bibb's guitar cords. Delivering this hard track with light, effortless confidence has a cool result. Very nice! Bibb original, Chauffeur Blues is written from the perspective of Bibb as Led Belly speaking to former boss John Lomax. Pointed and crisp. Stewball is a clever little story about a race horse and with it's uptempo rock style adds a different dimension. Titanic, with it's distinctive picking features Bibb on vocal and banjo with Milteau on harp. Maintaining it's early blues styling but with Bibb's warm vocal, this track is smooth. Wrapping the release is Bibb original, Swimming In A River Of Songs. A happy go lucky track, this concludes possibly my favorite Bibb release with a bopping beat. Very nice!
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
Eric Bibb &
JJ Milteau Hit Paydirt on New Lead Belly’s Gold CD, Coming November 6 on
Stony Plain Records
New Album
Includes Live Tracks Recorded at Famed Parisian Jazz Club, The Sunset, Plus New
Studio Recordings
EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain Records announces a November 6
release date for Lead Belly’s Gold, the new album tribute to the
legendary blues and folk musician from award-winning roots musician Eric Bibb
and acclaimed French harmonica player JJ Milteau. Lead Belly’s Gold features
11 live tracks recorded at famed Paris jazz club, The Sunset, as well as five
new studio recordings.
“It’s hard to remember when I first heard Lead Belly’s music
because, somehow, he’s always been around,” writes Eric Bibb’s in the album’s
liner notes. “Most likely, I heard recordings of others (The Weavers and Woody
Guthrie) singing songs from his huge repertoire before hearing his actual
voice. In any case, I have an early memory from the mid-1950s of listening to a
recording of Lead Belly singing a children’s song, ‘Ha Ha This-a-Way’. At that
time, my dad, Leon, was beginning to make his name known in New York City folk
music circles. He recently told me he remembered hearing Lead Belly perform at
The Village Vanguard in the late 1940s.
So, the soundtrack of my childhood included more than a few
of the great bard’s songs. The sound of his 12-string guitar is part of my DNA.
“What I hear now, when I listen to Lead Belly’s recordings
and YouTube clips, and what I must have sensed when I was a boy, is the man’s
personal power and independence. His sound made it clear that he was his own
man. The fatalism and resignation that I heard later in the voices of many of
my prewar blues heroes was missing in Lead Belly. He was way ahead of his time.
The path he cut through a world that conspired to rob him of his humanity,
dignity and manhood was a personal triumph that will inspire for generations to
come,” adds Bibb.
Indeed, the music of Huddie Ledbetter (aka “Lead Belly”)
that he either wrote or popularized from traditional songs, resonated with
everyone from folk and blues musicians of the 1940s/1950s, to rock and roll
artists starting in the 1960s/1970s and continuing to the present day. Songs
like “Midnight Special” became a part of the set lists of such rock acts as
Creedence Clearwater Revival and Johnny Rivers, to name a few; while classic
tunes “Good Night Irene” and “Rock Island Line” were staples in the repertoire
of folkies such as The Weavers and Woodie Guthrie, and blues performers still
regularly record and perform songs associated with Lead Belly.
“Endowed with an uncommon talent, he generated around his
person a sense of fraternity that awarded him the protective help of the
Lomaxes, favored artistic collaborations with Pete Seeger and other liberals in
the 1940s, and aroused the empathy of the young audiences he loved to
entertain,” states JJ Milteau.
“Yet his main claim to fame is linked to his personal power
and conviction as an interpreter. No one is left unscathed by Lead Belly’s
voice, by the sound of his guitar, both distant and familiar. Only great
artists showcase such timelessness while chronicling their times.
“Working with Eric on this project has been a real treat.
Each and every song came to us in a natural and spontaneous way. The majority
of titles present on this album were recorded live, with or without an
audience, in order to preserve this freshness. I’m looking forward to more
stage performances around this project,” Milteau says.
Lead Belly’s Gold features both material from
the Lead Belly canon, as well as original songs written by Eric Bibb and JJ
Milteau as a salute to their mentor. Additional musicians on the album include
Larry Crockett - drums and percussion; Big Daddy Wilson and Michael Robinson -
backing vocals; Gilles Michel – bass; Glen Scott - drums, bass and Wurlitzer;
and Michael Jerome Browne - 12-string guitar and mandolin.
“Lead Belly was a human jukebox,” summarizes Eric Bibb. “He
knew hundreds of songs that he’d either heard somewhere and adapted, or written
himself. Authorship of many of the songs he sang has long been a controversial
topic of heated debate in folk music circles. What is clear is this: if not for
Lead Belly and the collectors who first recorded him, we might never have heard
many of these timeless songs.
“Jean-Jacques and I chose songs from Lead Belly’s vast
repertoire that we could make our own. We wanted to pay homage to not only a
great musician, but to the rich tradition he embodied. Staying pretty close to
his renditions, we had a lot of fun collaborating on these new arrangements.
“Lead Belly spread his music by performing live in front of
mostly smaller audiences and recordings. We decided that the energy from a
small, enthusiastic audience would help us dive deep into the songs.
Fortunately, our good friend Stéphane at The Sunset, a famous Parisian jazz
club, was happy to make his venue available. We also took a few songs from
those club recordings and augmented them in the studio, as well as including
some original, new studio tracks. The result is this album, Lead Belly’s
Gold.”
Lead Belly’s Gold Album Track Listing
1.Grey
Goose - 5:30
2.When
That Train Comes Along / Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - 3:59
