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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!


Please email me at Info@Bmansbluesreport.com
Showing posts with label Irma Thomas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irma Thomas. Show all posts

Saturday, February 21, 2015

LRBC #25 Updates! Oct. 2015 Big Easy/Fantasy


Your deposit to reserve a stateroom is $500 per person ($1000/single) payable by Visa, MasterCard or Discover.
Please email Bluesin@BluesCruise.com for a copy of applicable terms and conditions.

Click for detailed pricing & availability!


Buddy Guy, one of this year's Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients, is headlining the October cruise, marking his First Appearance Ever on our Blues Cruise Charters!

"Whenever I accept an award like this I do it for all the Blues men and women who came before me and never got the recognition they truly deserved." - Buddy Guy
For a man who name is nearly synonymous with the Chicago blues sound, Buddy Guy has one of the warmest smiles in the business. Rock titans, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and Stevie Ray Vaughan have all cited him as a major influence on their own music. Now 78, the 2005 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has barely slowed down as he continues to encourage and inspire a new generation of musicians.
A Self-Taught Legend: Born to Louisiana sharecroppers Sam and Isabel Guy on July 30, 1936, George "Buddy" Guy taught himself to play guitar as a young boy. He took a train to Chicago in 1957, and landed at the famous 708 Club where he became a sideman for legends such as Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and Muddy Waters. By the early 1960s, Guy was a first-call session man at Chess Records.
After years of touring and recording, the musician opened Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago in June of 1989. As the premiere blues club in the world, its stage has hosted myriad of blues and rock greats. Guy inked a deal with Silvertone for three albums that began with the 1991 comeback smash Damn Right, I've Got the Blues (reissued in 2005), which he followed up with 1993′s Feels Like Rain and 1994′s Slippin' In. All three earned Grammy Awards.
Guy has firmly cemented a blues legacy that places him squarely in the company of his heroes who came before. In 2012, he published his autobiography, When I Left Home: My Story. He has said he feels an obligation to keep their legacy alive. Guy still holds a 16-show residency at his eponymous Legends club in Chicago every January. After one of his shows seven years ago, Guy met then eight-year-old Quinn Sullivan (who also joins us on LRBC #25), a budding blues guitarist. Now a mentor to the teenaged musician, Guy tours with him and produced his first album. "I learn from Buddy every day," Sullivan says.



KEY WEST
The clubs are lining up bands already...

NEW ORLEANS
Announcement soon, including Surprise/Special Guests!



MARCIA BALL
Just announced!

RANDY MCQUAY II(IBC 2015 Solo/Duo Winner)

Special Guest HAROLD BROWN (Lowrider Band)
Jam Host RANDY OXFORD


Click for upcoming Land Festival Destinations.



BUDDY GUY

ALLEN TOUSSAINT

IRMA THOMAS

BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO

ORIGINAL LEGENDARY RHYTHM & BLUES REVUE: TOMMY CASTRO BAND w/ MAGIC DICK, RONNIE BAKER BROOKS & DEANNA BOGART

TAB BENOIT

TERRANCE SIMIEN & ZYDECO EXPERIENCE

MARCIA BALL

TOMMY CASTRO & The PAINKILLERS

THEODIS EALEY

RICK ESTRIN & The NIGHTCATS

DEANNA BOGART BAND

CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS

JAREKUS SINGLETON

TOM HAMBRIDGE & The RATTLESNAKES

MAGIC DICK & SHUN NG

COREY HARRIS BAND

QUINN SULLIVAN

JONATHON "BOOGIE" LONG

"THE BLUES IS A WOMAN" Play written by Theodis Ealey & Tom Jones. Featuring: Lacee, Bernardine Mitchell & Theodis Ealey

RANDY MCQUAY II(IBC 2015 Solo/Duo Winner)

Jam Host RANDY OXFORD

MITCH WOODS CLUB 88

Host TBA w/ DARRELL NULISCH

IRONING BOARD SAM w/ ARDIE DEAN

DEANNA BOGART

MARCELLA SIMIEN
Itinerary | Holland America ms Westerdam
10/24: Ft. Lauderdale, FL | Depart 5p
10/25: Key West, FL | 8:00a - 5:00p
10/26: Bluesin' At Sea
10/27: New Orleans, LA | 11:00a - 11:00p
10/28: Bluesin' At Sea
10/29: Cozumel, MX | 1:00p - 9:00p
10/30: Bluesin' At Sea
10/31: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

313 Lawrence St. • Kansas City, MO 64111 • 816-753-7979 • 888-Bluesin' • BluesCruise.com

legendary.blues.cruise
 

Monday, December 15, 2014

Alive Records artist: Swamp Dogg - The White Man Made Me Do It - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, The White Man Made Me Do It, by Swamp Dogg and it's a funky soul party. Opening with funky title track, The White Man Made Me Do It, with a nod to Prince, it's Dogg on vocal and piano leads a large troupe of musicians including Moogster (keys), Charles Hayes (tenor sax), Andy Najara (bari sax), Phil Ranelin (trombone), Roy Weigind (trumpet), Steve "Stoney" Dixon (bass), Billy Haynes (bass), Lucky Lloyd Wright (guitar), Bill Barrett (trumpet), Troy Lombard (trumpet), Larry Williams (tenor sax), Michael Murphy ( organ and keys), Guitar Shorty (Lead Guitar) and Dan Weinstein (string ensemble). Lying, Lying, Lying Woman has more of an R&B sound with a driving beat. Hey Renae has a funky reggae beat and features a nice keyboard solo. Up next is Sam Cooke's, You Send Me, with a different spin on the nicely slung R&B tune. A smooth sax solo dresses this track up nicely against real nice lead vocals. Let Me Be Wrong is a cool R&B track with hot guitar riffs under the melody and hot horns. This track brings an echo of Sly Stone with it's horn vamp but really has it's own story. On classic blues track, Your Cash Ain't Nothing But Trash, with cool vocal lead and harmony the band really gets the house swinging. I'm So Happy has a nice R&B strut and clean vocals. I don't see any reference to fiddle on this track but there sure is something that sounds like a fiddle solo to me. Cool. What Lonesome Is has strong soul ballad bones and Dogg fills the lead vocal spot nicely. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah has a bit of a Motown sound with a "Temptations" feel. Where Is Sly has a funky high step sound and nice bass riffs. Lieber and Stoller composition, Smokey Joe's Cafe, saunters down the street helped along with deep sax lines. A cool guitar solo backed by organ tips this one. Light A Candle - Ring A Bell, another soul ballad has fiddle and guitar riffs punctuation strong vocals from Dogg. Predjudice Is Alive And Well has strong R&B bones and Dogg again shows his vocal prowess. Wailing guitar lead and strong bass bottom accents this track. Wrapping disc one is If That Ain't The Blues Nothing Is and a driving R&B beat. Bluesy guitar riffs and hot brass takes this track to a higher level. Disc two is a collection of Soul and Blues tracks starting with Rescue Me by Sandra Phillips. A cool R&B track with nice vocals by Phillips. Lightning Slim is up next on Good Morning Heartaches. A solid blues number, this track also features a strong horn backing and slick guitar riffs. I particularly like the vocals by Slim. Irma Thomas brings her R&B sound on strong with In Between Tears. This is a really nice track and Thomas is on top of her game. Charlie Whitehead's funky Read Between The Lines, is up next and tip top brass and low down sax makes this track rip. ZZ Hill's It Ain't No Use is a nice mixture between blues and R&B and Hill really does have a great voice. Doris Duke's blues ballad, To That Other Woman, has an almost spiritual feel and Duke really grabs it tight and shakes the emotion out of it. Very nice! Woofmoon track, What Is Heaven For, is a classic R&B track with solid horn and string backing. Swamp Dogg takes the last three tracks, Fuck The Bomb, a fast paced R&B track, and it's ultra clean piano work; Synthetic World, a classic R&B style ballad, and wrapping the release with My Life Ain't Nothing But A Blues Song. A high stepper with an almost Johhny Guitar Watson spin is a great track to complete this eclectic release.  

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”

 

Thursday, April 18, 2013

SWAMP DOGG'S "GAG A MAGGOTT" & IRMA THOMAS' "IN BETWEEN TEARS" OUT MAY 14TH ON ALIVE RECORDS!

 
 
SOUL LEGEND SWAMP DOGG TO RE-RELEASE NEWLY REMASTERED VERSIONS OF HIS 1973 GAG A MAGGOTT LP & IRMA THOMAS' SWAMP-PRODUCED SOUL CLASSIC IN BETWEEN TEARS ON MAY 14TH!
 
AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON VINYL SINCE THEIR ORIGINAL RELEASES IN 1973! (THROUGH ALIVE NATURALSOUND RECORDS)
 
CD & DIGITAL VERSIONS INCLUDE TWO BONUS TRACKS EACH!
 
 

 
"A lost classic that captures deep soul at its most poignant and resonant, couching Thomas' deeply affecting vocals in earthy arrangements that emphasize the singer's gospel roots." - AMG

Produced by legendary soul singer / songwriter / producer Jerry Williams Jr., aka Swamp Dogg, and featuring Duane Allman on two songs, Irma Thomas' In Between Tears is finally back on vinyl with its original cover for the first time since 1973. The CD and digital versions include the Canyon single ("We Won’t Be In Your Way Anymore" / "I’ll Do It All Over You") as bonus tracks. The CD also includes newly penned liner notes by Swamp Dogg.
In Between Tears will be available in all formats on May 14th. Color vinyl exclusive to Bomp-mailorder.
 
IN BETWEEN TEARS TRACK LISTING:
1.  In Between Tears
2.  She'll Never Be Your Wife
3.  These Four Walls
4.  Whats So Wrong With You Loving Me
5.  You're The Dog (I Do The Barking Myself)
6.  Medley: Coming From Behind (Monologue)
7.  Wish Someone Would Care
8.  Turn My World Around
9.  We Won't Be In Your Way Anymore (
CD & digital bonus track)
10.  I'll Do It All Over You (
CD & digital bonus track)

 

 
Re-released for the first time on vinyl since its original release in 1973!

"Ivan Olander’s drums, Little Beaver’s guitar, even the horns of the Swamp Dogg Band maintain a fierce momentum that’s not conventional at all.” – Robert Christgau (Dean Of American Rock Critics)

Swamp Dogg's Gag A Maggot was recorded at TK in Miami with an all-star cast. The CD and digital versions feature two unreleased bonus tracks recorded live at KSAN radio in 1972 ("Mamas Baby, Daddy’s Maybe" and "Honky Tonk Woman"). The CD booklet also includes new liner notes and rare photos. The song "Choking To Death (From The Ties That Bind)" was recorded by Canned Heat in 1974. Gag A Maggott will be available in all formats on May 14th. Color vinyl exclusive to Bomp-mailorder.

GAG A MAGGOTT TRACK LISTING:
1.  Wife Sitter
2. Choking To Death (From The Ties That Bind)
3.  I Couldn't Pay For What I Got Last Night
4.  Mighty Mighty Dollar Bill
5.  Midnight Hour
6.  Please Let Me Kiss You Goodbye
7.  T T
8.  Why Must We Fall (When We Fall In Love)
9.  Plastered To The Wall (Higher Than The Ceiling)
10.  Mama's Baby, Daddy's Maybe (Live) (CD & digital bonus track)
11.  Honky Tonk Woman (Live) (CD & digital bonus track)

     

The REMASTERED versions of Swamp Dogg's Total Destruction To Your Mind & Rat On! are available digitally today through iTunes (click on the two album images above to order through iTunes):
HERE'S WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING ABOUT SWAMP DOGG'S RECENTLY RE-ISSUED & REMASTERED VERSIONS OF HIS EARLY '70S SOUL CLASSICS TOTAL DESTRUCTION TO YOUR MIND & RAT ON!:

FOUR STARS! A Lost Bayou-Funk Treasure. - ROLLING STONE

 Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams is a cult hero who's responsible for some of the most unique rock-influenced R&B (and weirdest album covers) ever made.  - SPIN

Swamp Dogg's Total Destruction To Your Mind and Rat On! are red hot platters of burning Southern Soul. - BLURT

FOUR STARS! The first two albums from Jerry William's non-conformist country-soul alter ego, finally remastered…. A new soul superhero for Underground America. - MOJO

Two astonishing albums. Combining Solomon Burke showmanship with Joe Tex's choleric testifying, Total Destruction To Your Mind made it clear - Dogg was a revolutionary creation, responding to the freedom of black music's new era. - UNCUT

A brilliant, prolific soul auteur. - NASHVILLE SCENE

Hyped-up unearthings of vintage funk/soul “lost classics” are a dime a dozen nowadays, but it’s not often you encounter something as truly strange and striking as the first two LPs from Virginia eccentric Jerry Williams Jr., aka Swamp Dogg. Total Destruction to Your Mind (1970) and Rat On! (1971) — remastered/reissued on Alive Naturalsound — make good on their gonzo titles with faintly absurd yet salient satire on war, consumerism and race politics all backed by roiling, Stax-style funk. - PHILADELPHIA CITY PAPER

Gonzo soul classics - AQUARIUM DRUNKARD

These two albums sound positively thrilling, as if we’d just found a couple of prime unreleased Sly Stone albums hidden in a closet. - SOUND + VISION MAGAZINE

An acid-fueled R&B visionary, - SOUL SAUCE

Punk-rock in spirit years before punk. – THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN

Swamp Dogg two earliest releases – Total Destruction To Your Mind (1970) and Rat On! (1971) – have long been overdue for a re-release. Now, crisply remastered and available on CD and vinyl, they're ready to shine afresh and attract a new audience. - BLOGCRITICS

Nothing matches the mind-blowing power of these R&B/rock/protest/progressive masterpieces that musically kept pretty loyal to Southern soul but conceptually were like nothing else on the market. – ROCTOBER

His music is rock, it's country soul, it's classic R&B and it's funk.  Take away the impeccable Stax horn arrangements and it's stone cold classic country.  - WHEN YOU MOTOR AWAY

Everyone get down on your knees and give thanks, for these two magnificent albums are back on store shelves once again. I cannot recommend these enough. I say get them both at the same time, because if you dig one, you're going to want a hit of the other one right away. Trust me on this one... you need some Swamp Dogg in your life. - OTHER MUSIC

This is some of the finest American music not only of its time, but of all time. - BLINDED BY SOUND
 
FOR MORE INFO ON SWAMP DOGG:

FOR MORE INFO ON IRMA THOMAS:
http://www.irmathomas.com

FOR MORE INFO ON ALIVE RECORDS:
http://www.alive-totalenergy.com