I just received and had the chance to review the new release, The Lovin' Kind, by International Blues Challenge Finalists Lil' Cliff & the Cliffhangers, and it's quite enjoyable. The Cliffhangers, a harmonica driven quartet, play primarily in a jump style but mix it up a bit and also show a bit of a sense of humor. Eight of the 15 tracks are written by the band and the flow is very even and well thought out. The title track is a jump blues and is a great start to the recording. Willie Dixon's Twenty - Nine Ways (To My Baby''s Door) is up next and look out for a great guitar solo from Dennis Phelps. Ace Don't Ace Me Out and Creole Belle both get that New Orleans feeling, the latter with a pretty cool slide solo. On Heaven Can Wait, Lil' Cliff gets a pretty unusual harp sound going (I like it) and there are some particularly nice backing vocal harmonies. The Cliffhangers put up 2 George "Harmonica" Smith tunes, Oopin' Doopin' Doopin' and Rockin'. Along of course with great harping throughout, you get some cool, unexpected guitar riffs as seen here and Rockin' is a real foot stomper. The two best tracks for me were the humorous Spank That Monkey (that's for your Ace) which also is instrumentally interesting and Walter Jacobs' Up The Line which is performed Chicago style over a Latin beat. There's a great ripping guitar solo on this track. This is a cool cd and one that you should check out!
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