Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Mercy Me , from Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters and it's strong. Opening with Muddy Waters' classic shuffle, Blow Wind Blow in Earl style and it's great. With Diane Blue handling the lead vocals nicely, Dave Limina on B3, Paul Kochanski on bass and Forrest Padgett on drums and Peter Ward sharing the guitar work with Earl, this is a solid opener. Slow blues, Blues For Duke Robillard , is prime Earl. I know that this may sound repetitive, but although Earl is an excellent player across the spectrum, his flow and chops on slow blues instrumentals are really tops in todays market. His feel, phrasing and tone is excellent and this track is an excellent example. With a slight uptick, Anthony Geraci's A Prayer For Tomorrow , is another great jam showing Earl not only with strong lead phrasing but gripping trem bends and lush chords under the beautiful key work of Geraci. Very nice. Another great shuffle, Dave...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Rise Up , from Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters and it's smokin! Opening with a simple, acoustic guitar cover of traditional I Shall Not Be Moved , gives you no clues that Earl is about to open a can of Whoop on us. Shuffle, Higher Love , with a solid intro by Earl and Dave Kimina on B3 gives the stage over to super blues vocalist, Diane Blue and she fits like a glove. Settling down into a super groove laid out by Kimina on B3, Forrest Padgett on drums, Paul Kochanski on bass and Peter Ward on guitar, Earl really steps up with some of his beautiful blues phrasing. Fenton Robinson's R&B track, You Don't Know What Love Is is a super platform for Blue and Earl. Blue's vocals are perfectly suited for this style of music and her feel and sense of timing are super. Blues For Lucky Peterson is the first of a number of slow blues tracks where Earl really stretches it out. Busting out at over 10 minutes, you ...