Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release; Me, Myself & I from Arthur James and it's solid. Opening with 292 Nashua St. , an easy flowing country style blues, James shows his command of rural country style blues picking techniques. Very nice. Blues, Blues, Blues digs into a basic 1-4-5 style and accompanies himself on guitar. His voice is well suited for acoustic blues and his technique is fluid. This is a cool track with some slick but traditionally rooted riffs. What You Tryin' To Do has a classic Piedmont styling and James' own vocal flair makes this a very an interesting variation on the common theme. Long Black Road has a real nice guitar vamp and a few JLH style riffs and again James' vocals blend nicely for original blues styling. Ooh Yeah! has a blues rock feel and a bit more modern feel. It still has a older root but with more modern execution techniques. Boogie track Things Ain't No Better has a solid rudimentary styling and James' vocals are as st...

I just received the newest release, Me, Myself and I from Stephen Anthony Gregory . This is certainly not a mainline blues release by any means but of course has blues influences. Opening With Red Light, White Light , Gregory who plays all instruments, plays intricate classically shaped guitar solos over a metal based rhythm. Tapping, bending and shredding are all present but quite tastefully done. On Old Avila , the backing is a little lighter in nature but use of bass the track still has a bit of a metal sound. Gregory weaves the drums, rhythm guitar and bass into a cool underlayment for wailing guitar melodies. Gregoria is a bit lighter yet with arpeggiated chords and solid twin lead guitar solo melodies making for a pleasant instrumental. Wrapping the release is The "Hip Do's" a hard driver with grinding rhythm guitar and high overdrive lead guitar melody. Rapid fire lead guitar work leading into anthem like melodic lines and soaring dives makes this an entertaini...