Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most release, The Reverend Shawn Amos Breaks It Down , by The Reverend Shawn Amos and it's cool. Opening with Moved , an ethereal blues track, Amos on vocal and harp, accompanied by Chris "Doctor" Roberts on guitar, and Sharlotte Gibson and Kenya Hathaway on vocal makes for an interesting opener. R&B track, Hold Hands , had a solid melody and a good beat with Hannah Dexter on bass, Peter Adams on keys, Mike Smirnoff on drums, James Saez and Doctor Roberts on guitars. David Bowie's The Jean Genie is much bluesier with harp and horns and vocals through the mic amp. Very cool. Freedom Suite is made up of three distinct sections, Uncle Tom's Prayer , Does My Life Matter and (We've Got To) Come Together ; a group of short concepts based on civil rights issues with notes from Dr Martin Luther King and Bukka White. Wrapping the release is Elvis Costello's (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Underst...

I just received the newest release (October 16, 2015), The Reverend Shawn Amos Loves You , from The Reverend Shawn Amos and it's funky blues time! Opening with gospel style track, Days of Depression , Amos, on lead vocal is joined by the Blind Boys of Alabama on an old school blues track with only primitive guitar and the sounds of their voices. Very nice! Brand New Man has a much more aggressive rock feel and Chris "Doctor" Roberts grunts out some pretty impressive guitar riffs. Driven by Brady Blade on drums, Lewis Smith on trumpet and Mindi Abair on sax, this track rocks! Slowing down with a little shuffle, Boogie , features Amos on harp and vocals joined by Missy Andersen. Brothers Keeper has a solid R&B feel and Amos lays in a nice blues line on harp. Roberts leads off You're Gonna Miss Me (When I Get Home), a funky track with a solid bottom provided by Chris Thomas. Roberts plays a nicely distorted guitar solo and Amos follows with a cool harp riff whi...

I just received the newest release, The Reverend Shawn Amos Tells It from The Reverend Shawn Amos and it's great! Opening with Hoodoo Man's Blues , The Rev is right on the vocal and harp. This arrangement is so tight it could be right from a Jr. Wells release. Chris Roberts plays lush guitar riffs behind the lead, Don Medina is right on the spot on drums and Ed Terrio holds down the bottom on bass. Very nice! (The Girl Is) Heavy has a bit of funk and cool B3 by Anthony Martinelli. I'm The Face has a strong 60's British feel with a twist of Slim Harpo. With strong tom tom beat and lead harp work this is a cool flash back. Elmore James' Something Inside Of Me is done in a very traditional style with cool vocals by The rev. This track really has iridescent guitar riffs giving it a cool shimmery feel and setting it apart from the balance of the release. Sonny Boy Williams' Good Morning Little School Girl is driven by Terrio and The Rev nails the vocals. Stro...