Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Prime Blues , from Jim Allchin and it's quite good. Allchin, who is releasing his 4th studio release is really honing in on the perfect sound for him. Opening with R&B flavored blues number, Give It Up , featuring Allchin on lead vocal and guitar, peppered with punchy horn work by the Memphis Horns (Charles Rose, Jim Hoke, Steve Hermann and Doug Moffet). Allchin has really honed his tone and his chops have always been super. His backing band is tops with Bob Britt, Rob McNelley  and Kenny Greenberg on rhythm guitar, Tom Hambridge on drums, Glenn Worf on bass, Mycle Wastman on backing vocals and Kevin McKendree on keys. Strutting, Devil Don't Sleep really has a great feel with excellent lead work by Allchin and heavy B3 by McKendree. Jimmy's Boogie is a high energy boogie with a solid bass line by Worf and terrific piano work by McKendree over the tight drums of Hambridge giving Allchin free rein to pla...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Decisions , from Jim Allchin and his records just keep getting better. Allchin's first two releases garnered strong review but I believe that this one is his best yet. Opening with Artificial Life , a boogie rocker, Allchin has his amp dialed in just perfect and it getting super tone. With strong support from Michael Rhodes on thumping bass, Reese Wynans on B3 and Tom Hambridge on drums this is a strong opener showcasing Allchin's chops and cool phrasing. Latin rocker, The Mexican End has a solid melody and horn punctuation by Bill Bergman on sax, Lee Thornburg on trumpet. Allchins vocals are solid and his guitar playing tight. Driving rocker, Bad Decisions , has the solid rhythm of Don Nix's Goin' Down with searing guitar riffs making this one of my favorites on the release. High intensity, Just Plain Sick is a super hot number in the style of Clarence Gatemouth Brown. Allchin really rips it up on this...

I just received the newest release (September 10, 2013), Q. E. D. from Jim Allchin and it's really quite remarkable. Opening with Stop and Go , a Chuck Berry meets Foghat rocking and rompin boogie track, Allchin continues where he left off on his last release, Overclocked, with flawless screaming guitar riffs. On Gettin Old , a swing blues, Brooke Lizotte adds subtle key work to the bottom and Allchin effectively uses volume swells to punctuate his guitar solos. Organ solos by Lizotte and horn work by New York Brass punch up the track. On Chime Blues , a bluesy ballad, Allchin sets the mood with creamy chords and Ben Smith plays crisp drum basics. A funky Latin style lead carves a path and Allchin really lets the dog out. With warm guitar tones and Allchin plays a very clean instrumental track. Reap What You Sow is a contemporary rock boogie with scorching hot guitar riffs and tight rhythm section as a backer. A likely track for radio airplay. Mycle Wastman sings really sweet ...

Just received the new release by Jim Allchin called "Overclocked". While I am listening to this cd I go to Jim's site to check out who he is.... this guy is unbelievable. I mean you need to go to his home page! Here are a couple of excerpts: "Jim grew up in a one-room house on a dirt farm in the Deep South. After living the life of a starving musician, he left to earn Masters/Doctorate degrees from Stanford University and Georgia Institute of Technology. He went on to become a world recognized leader in Computer Science and software. Today he codes for fun and he plays guitar for love." "I grew up in the deep south. I learned to play by listening to old blues players and latin players or even new ones at the time (e.g., Allman Brothers, Santana). I travelled the south playing in bands and writing music — mostly blues rock. I met some amazing musicians. I played 16+ hours a day. And I learned a hard lesson in the music business: being good matters, but there...