Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Let The Demons Out , from Ghalia & Mama's Boys . Yes, this is Johnny Mastro's Mama's Boys. Opening with  4AM Fried Chicken , a driving rock n roller, Ghalia Vauthier has that natural rockin vocal style and Mastro really rides tight on harp with Smokehouse Brown on guitar, Dean Zucchero on bass and Rob Lee on drums and percussion. Super opener. Press That Trigger is a cool track with traces of SB Williamson and Alvin Lee with a pinch of the Pretenders. Mastro's harp shows solid tone and Smokehouse's guitar riffs are sparse but cool. Blending a little contemporary styling into delta style blues, Addicition is a cool, mostly primitive blues track with Ghalia on vocal and slide guitar with only the basics of percussion by Lee and Mastro's harp filling the air. Very spatial. A great rocking boogie, All The Good Things is really infectious (like a boogie should be). Vauthier really winds it up voc...

I'm just getting the opportunity to listen Luke's Dream , the new Johnny Mastro and Mama's Boys' cd on Rip Cat Records. This cd is gritty and grimy...just the way I like it. Luke's Stomp , a stripped down track with harp, tambourine, resonator and vocal sets a good pace to open the recording. Thunder Roll picks up the challenge and with a solid drum beat and droning bottom, drives the blues rhythm under a raw and raucous track. I really like the tone of the guitar on this track and the bottom of the track is just solid. Knee High is another great track with primitive rhythms and raw slide work. Mastro is a cool vocalist and knows just how to get the harp pushing the envelope. A jagged track with overdriven vocals and heavy hitting guitar chords. Cool guitar riffs are played almost under the track allowing a lot of breathing space for the natural boogie. Junker Blues takes a more straightforward 8 bar approach. This track again with great slide playing rips a h...