Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blink , from Rachelle Coba and it's an soulful understated rocker. Opening with High and Dry , a rocker with a driving beat, Coba on guitar and vocal is teamed with Paul Kuzik on bass, Andrei Koricanics on drums and featuring John Ginty on piano. Dance These Blues Away has a cool funky back beat that really gives Coba a chance to showcase her bluesy vocals and soulful guitar riffs. Very nice. Good Ole Heartbreak is a soul ballad with a great melody. Another strong track, this could easily be the top radio track on the release. A solid rocker with a light country flavor (think Stones or Mellencamp) title track, Blink , had a strong (rock) dance groove and just the right guitar tone to push it over the edge. Solid! Another track that deserves a particular note is Shuffle Ya with an almost spoken vocal line but with a heavy footed bottom and guitar punctuation over the warm organ ride of Ginty. Very nice. Wrapping ...

I just received the newest release, Mother Blues from Rachelle Coba and it's a very interesting first effort on the part of this fine singer/songwriter/guitarist. Opening with Never Been To Memphis, Coba kicks up her heels in a country pop manner with balanced vocal and guitar mix. Ain't Got Time (To Fall In Love) , is up next with a soul flavor. Showing strong possibilities as a radio track I would certainly compare it favorably with the work of Susan Tedeschi. Worried Blues is a fusion of blues and light jazz as you might hear from Robben Ford and not only nicely showcases Coba's fine vocals but also some pretty stylistic guitar riffs. Between The Tracks has a quiet ballad feel with clean articulate guitar work and firm drum work from Karl T Himmel. Jacob Webb lays down some really sweet bass lines on this track and Jerry Hahn also adds some nice lead guitar work. Chicago has a bit of a rag beat to it looking back at some of the more old style blues players. The co...