Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Come Around, from Rob Lutes and I really like it. Opening with Knives , an easy folk rocker, singer/songwriter/guitar player, Rob Lutes sounds a bit like a modern day JJ Cale. With his country rock approach, the addition of dobro by Rob MacDonald, Solon McDade on bass, Bob Stagg on keys, and Mario Telaro on drums this is a cool opener. Lightning is another great track with Dylan like presentation and Band like orchestration. Very nice. Traditional track, In My Time of Dyin' has a cool lumbering blues (Maybe Mark Knopfler) feel and Lutes free flowing vocals really carry the track nicely over minimal guitar, drum and keys and with a chunky guitar lead. Very cool. Well saturated reverb on Amsterdam gives this primarily folk track a special feel. Lutes captures the essence of the moment and places it in time. Very nice. Wrapping the release is Away, a really nice acoustic instrumental between Lutes and MacDonald. The s...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Walk In The Dark , from Rob Lutes and it's quite good. Opening with folk/blues track, A Little Room , Lutes weaves his tale, singing and playing acoustic guitar, joined by Rob MacDonald on guitar, Mark Nelson on drums, Andrew Horton on bass and Bob Stagg on piano. One of my favorite tracks, There's No Way To Tell You That Tonight , is a blues infused rocker with solid guitar soloing and includes Guy Belanger on harmonica. A strong melody and Lutes solid vocals give this track substantial girth. Another particularly cool track is Rocky Mountain Time , a simple ballad with a waltz time. Lutes has a way of telling a story and composing a tune that just sits right. Think JJ Cale and Mark Knopler. Country western / bluegrass styling makes Rabbit another standout track featuring the violin work of Josh Zubot and Joe Grass on mandolin. Very nice. A happy feeling track, Believe In Something , will have you bopping in yo...