Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the newest release, Heavens To Betsy , from Jeremiah Johnson , and it's a full mix of rock, country, pop, and blues with plenty of guitar. Opening with southern rock flavored, White Lightning , Jeremiah Johnson explores a firm American tradition but, bypassing the dual guitar lead and inserting tight, expressive riffs with plenty of sting. Backed by Tony Anthonis on bass, and Benet Schaeffer on drums, a solid opener. Power blues rocker, Soul Crush has definite Led Zep swagger with guitar, bass and Frank Bauer on sax all reinforcing the lead. Johnson steps up with his pinched harmonic lead and hits it square on the nuts. His vocals are right on and this track rocks. Another solid rocker is American Steel with a driving beat and just a little back beat. Always with that country vein and stinging guitar riffs, this is another strong entry. Albert King's Born Under A Bad Sign has the tempo kicked up a little and with the addition of Bauer ...

RUF RECORDS TO RELEASE SET ON NOVEMBER 17 TH The box set celebrating the 20 th anniversary of the passing of blues legend Luther Allison will take the blues world by storm upon its release on November 17 th . The pressing has been limited to 1500 CD sets, and contains the essential albums recorded by Luther during his Motown years. To compliment this massive array of music is an 88-page coffee table book written by Art Tipaldi featuring Luther’s inspiring story, comments from his friends and associates and many rare and private photos. In addition, the box is chock full of video footage. Included are performances from 1997 (Live in Paradise and Zoo Bar), 1991 ( A concert in Germany with Luther playing alongside his son Bernard), 1987 (a show from East Berlin.) The 1996 performance at the W.C. Handy Awards packs the power and excitement of Luther’s typical 3-hour shows into a riveting and relentless 15-minute blues set. This particular performance was the climax of hi...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Change My Game , from Thorbjorn Risager & the Black Tornado and it's very interesting. Opening with I Used To Love You , Risager sets a new stage with a calm, poised melody and rich vocals backed by Peter Skjerning on guitar, Emil Balsgaard on keys, Soren Bojgaard on bass, Martin Seidelin on drums, Hans Nybo on tenor sax, Kasper Wagner on sax and Peter Kehl on trumpet. On Funky rocker, Dreamland , the band really hits the groove and the horn section pumping up the work of Bojgaard, Seidelin and Balsgaard I really like this track. Title track, Change My Game has a solid radio format with a spunky beat, clever guitar riffs, a cool funky rhythm and cool horn punctuation. With a blues vamp platform, Risager rides high in a cool, polished blues hollar. Hold My Lover Tight is a solid rocker with a driving beat, super vocals and punchy horns. Another of my favorites. Maybe It's Alright has a universal appeal wit...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Meeting My Shadow by Vanessa Collier and it's quite good! Opening with dark, slinky, Poisoned The Well , Vanessa Collier has a great sound as a lead vocalist and her clavinet work on this track and especially her haunting flute work on track one is intoxicating. I really like the bass line by Lenny Bradford and Nicholas Stevens' drum work. Excellent opener. On R&B track, Dig A Little Deeper , Laura Chavez created a cool traditional guitar rhythm and Collier adds her solo sax work to the horn work of Marc Franklin on trumpet giving the track a bit more punch. When It Don't Come Easy has a smooth southern blues rock featuring Chavez on electric guitar and resonator guitar and getting some of the best vocal warmth from Collier. Rock n roller, Two Parts Sugar, One Part Lime features a bit more of Collier's solo sax work with her vocals and some nice piano work by Charles Hodges.  Soul track, You...

I just received the newest release, 20 Years Anniversary , from Ruf Records . This is a hot release of music from 1994 to present showing the breadth of Ruf artists talent. Opening is one of my personal Rolling Stones classics, Bitch featuring Samantha Fish, Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde from the Girls With Guitars release. Hot! Up next is Bliss Avenue , the title track from Bliss Avenue, by Dana Fuchs. Fuchs has a throaty voice with a lot of grit on this track which has a lot of the suspense of Screaming Jay Hawkins. I had the fortune to review her Songs From The Road release recently and she really puts on a show! Make sure that you catch the smoking guitar solo on this track! Joanne Shaw Taylor is up next with Can't Keep Living Like This from Diamonds In The Dirt. Showing her guitar prowess, Taylor demonstrates clearly that she isn't just a skirt and a voice. Fish is back on Down In The Swamp from her Runaway release. With it's driving "swampy" guitar vamp F...