Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, One More Foot In The Quicksand , from Les Copeland and it's honest. Opening with blues rocker, Change Of Pace , Les Copeland sets up on lead vocal and guitar, backed by Cameron Ward on bass and Scott Grant on drums. On Big Bill Broonzy's When I Been Drinking , Copeland goes it alone with electric guitar. This is a particularly cool tract with solid vocals and excellent country blues style guitar accompaniment. Very cool. Freddie King's Woman Across The River gets a real funky edge. The base arrangement remains intact but Copeland's added funk gives it a really fresh feel. Copeland lays in some real nice riffs and Ward's bass lines are excellent. Another cool, country style blues track, Perfect Man Like You , blends solid vocals by Copeland, backed by flat picking and slide guitar overlays. Very nice. Slow blues number, Uncle To Aunt, gives Copeland a real nice opportunity to just stretch and show h...

I just received the newest release, To Be In Your Company , from Les Copeland and it's lively and entertaining. Copeland, Honeyboy Edwards' traveling companion, working partner and student for 15 years, has released his second collection and this one's a doozy. Opening with title track, To Be In Your Company , Copeland sings about his friend, Honeyboy as he lays down a rudimentary Piedmont style pattern on acoustic and soloing over the top on electric guitar. Very nice. Slipping and sliding on acoustic, Borderline tells the story of crossing and being detained in border towns. Stealin' has a certain period styling and a mellow acoustic sound. I particularly like Copeland's vocals on this track with a bit of loose vocal improvisation. Henry Townsend's Why We Love Each Other has a really nice meter, with Cat Wells joining on harmony. Knucklehead is a track about the interplay between Copeland and his wife, Sarah. With his Herb Ellis hollow body tuned to o...