Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Heart of Memphis , from Michele D'Amour and the Love Dealers and it's got real traction. Opening with Another Sleepless Night , a slick, Latin flavored track along the lines of Black Magic Woman, finds Michele up front on vocal with Jeff Cornell laying down some sweet guitar lead, backed by Patrick McDanel on bass, Dave Delzotto on drums, Brian Olendorf on keys and Noel Barnes on sax. Another breezy, bluesy track with Latin rhythm is Come On Over with Sheila Kelly and Kristi miller singing lush backing vocals. Olendorf's piano solo is smooth and a tasty trumpet insert by Greg Lyons adds just the right iridescence. Title track, Heart of Memphis has rich horns and smooth vocal leads by Michele. With a nice interwoven texture of trumpet, bass, guitar, lead and backing vocal, this is a cool radio track. One of the most fun tracks on the release is funky, Memphis Soul Stew a la James Brown style. Michele direc...

I just received the newest release (2/10/15), Heart Of Memphis , from Robin McKelle & The Flytones and it's got a cool vibe. Opening with About To Be Your Baby , a funky, high stepping, horn infused soul track. If you grew up in the 60's and 70's listening to Al Green and the like, you'll certainly find this groove! Up next is Good Time , a faster, Ike Turner like track again in the soul vein. Thick with horn and including a tambourine, this track is jumping. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood , made popular by The Animals, gets a bit of a kick in the pants with a faster pace, unusual key work and brighter vocals. Control Yourself is an easy paced ballad with pop jazz overtones. It really has a nice bop making me think a bit of Badu. Very cool! Delbert McClinton's Forgetting You is a soulful ballad with simple horn backing and a country twist ... almost like a Muscle Shoals recording.  Title track , Heart Of Memphis is an easy soul ballad with a simple back ...