Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Burn It Down , from Lauren Anderson and it's a smokin' blues rocker with a solid blend of bluesy ballads. Opening with title track, Burn It Down , Lauren Anderson on vocal leads the way with stinging guitar work by Dan Wecht, and with Hutch on bass, Johnathan Smith on keys, and Matt Doctor on drums. Slinky, Soul Is Mine is dominated by super tom tom feel by Doctor, Smith on organ and Wecht on slide guitar. Anderson really works her voice nicely against the soulful feel of the track making it one of my favorites on the release. Albert Castiglia makes a guest stop on Zombie Blues really getting the fretboard going on this high energy rocker. Soulful, I Know , shows a terrific combination of Anderson's vocal and songwriting skills creating, in my opinion, the top radio track on the release. Lumbering, Hit The Spot has a strong funk rocker with a strong melodic hook and super guitar lead by John Salaway. Another...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Love On The Rocks by Lauren Anderson and she has a powerhouse voice with a variety of music styles. Opening with Keep On a spiritual based format with a deep lead vocal by Anderson and rich vocal backing that leaves you wanting more. Back to Chicago is a cool R&B based, slightly funky blues rocker with a great feel. With a solid bottom, laid down by Matt Doctor on drums and Hutch on bass, complimented by Jim Greene on guitar, Kiran Gupta on keys and fdeaturing some real nice lead guitar riffs by Mike Zito, this is a real nice track. Slinky, Holdin' Me Down, had a funky, pop, hip hop kind of sound with repetitive monotonic vocal styling as is popular in contemporary pop music. Stand Still is a folk ballad style and one that I like pretty well. Anderson seems comfortable in this skin and with warm, guitar, drum and key backing, a strong entry for best radio track on the release. Wrapping the release is ballad, Your Tu...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Won't Stay Down , from Lauren Anderson and I like it. Opening Anderson shows her rich vocal skill immediately on pop track, Honey, Call Me Baby , a soulful track with a nice melody and Pretenders attitude. I particularly like the warm rhythm guitar tone and carefree soloing of of Jimi Greene, with Hutch on bass, William Adkins on keys and John Rodrigue on drums. Ballad, Too Little Too Late has pure radio appeal with nicely blended vocals with Meg Williams and Jenny Teator and the solid organ work of Adkins. Powerful. Title track, Won't Stay Down , is another solid track with just the right swagger and some of my favorite vocals on the release and a great bass line by Hutch. Cake has a cool Latin beat with super percussion and a really nice trumpet solo by Emmanuel Echem and Kiran Gupta. Hutch gets a quick solo that leads into a crisp solo by Greene but it's Anderson who stars in this show. Very nice. Wrapp...