Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Everything Now , by JW-Jones and it's a solid mix of blues, R&B, rock, and pop. Opening with title track, Everything Now , JW-Jones on lead vocal and guitar has penned a cool, pop rocker with a strong melody, featuring Stanton Moore on drums, Gordie Johnson on harmony, rhythm, bass and keys making this a super opener. Blues rocker, Papa's In The Pen has a cool rhythm and Jones' vocals are strong with a tight guitar solo pushing the track nicely. With Eric Eggleston on harmony vocal, rhythm guitar and percussion, Aaron Sterling on drums and Jeff Rogers on keys another solid entry. Shuffle track, Take Your Time features Jimmie Vaughan on guitar with his signature style, and includes Jason Corbiere on drums. My favorite track on the release is To Tell You The Truth (I Lied) with Jones' best vocal on the release and it's supple bluesy feel. Cutting loose on guitar Jones really gives this track an ext...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Fully Charged , from Kathy Murray & The Kilowatts and  its a cool current day blues rocker. Opening with Expense of Love based around an up tempo Sonny Boy Williamson riff, Kathy Murray leads the release off with supple, lead vocals in front of a band that sounds like it's chomping at the bit to run. With Michael DeSantis on bass, Richard Ross on drums, and Bill "Monster" Jones on guitar, solid opener. Rolling into a great blues track, My Mistake, Jones steps up with some hot riffs over DeSantis' bass line, and with the addition of the Texas Horns (Kaz Kazanoff on tenor sax, John Mills on bari sax, and Al Gomez on trumpet). Very nice! With a modified walking bass line driven by DeSantis, Henny Penny Blues is a cool change up mid disc with a nice exchange between Murray and Jones. With solid riffs and a snappy drum base by Ross, a solid addition. Pulling out Tampa Red's It Hurts Me Too , Jones sli...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Shadow Man , by John McLean and Charles Barkatz and it's a mixed bag of blues based rock. Opening with Leaky Shoes Blues with it's almost Pink Floyd like feel and blues overtones. With John McLean on lead vocal, Charles Barkatz on guitar and vocal, Derek O'Brien on guitar, Nick Connolly on keys, Chris Maresh on bass and John Chipman on drums and with Kaz Kazanoff on sax, John Mills on bari sax, and Al Gomez on trumpet this is a cool opener. Title track, Shadow Man , is a bright shuffle with and a cool extended guitar solo. Slow blues, She Cry Blues is one of my favorite tracks on the release with fat sax work behind soulful vocal lead by McLean and tasty blues guitar lead and solid accents. Bathtub Blues is a cool, upbeat blues rocker with the addition of Kazanoff on harmonica. Wrapping the release is New Life , a strong blues track in the manner of Willie Dixon. With it's hard rhythmic bottom, loose bu...