Bman's Blues Report

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Two Sides , from Kirsten Thien , and it's a solid rocker. Opening with heavy footed, Shoulda Been, a blues rocker with Thien on vocal and acoustic guitar, Erik Boyd on cool slide bass and rhythm guitar, Arthur Neilson with a nice slide guitar solo, Steve Holley on drums and Tommy Mandel on clavinet. Solid opener. Contemporary blues shout, After I Left Home (Song For Buddy Guy) Thien shows the power of her voice and Neilson lays down a strong guitar solo. Latin flavored Montanas is my favorite track on the release, featuring Fabian Almazan on piano, John Benthal on cuatro and requinto, Boyd on bass and Alex Alexander on drums and percussion. Excellent! Wrapping the release is an up tempo take on Leon Russell's, I'd Rather Be Blind , with a cool R&B feel. Steve Holley on drums plays it light, Neilson lays in a compact but clean guitar solo and the addition of Tommy Mandel on Wurlitzer and organ makes this ...

I just received the newest release, Cut Me Loose , from Magnus Berg and I really like it! Opening with title track, Cut Me Loose , Berg takes command on vocal and guitar showing a maturity beyond his age. Joined by Bjorn Tore "Daffy" Larsen on harp, Havard Sunde on drums and Roy Oscar Pettersen on bass. This is rock solid! On One Way To Please You , Berg slips into Chicago style and Daffy really hits the harp. Blues riffs with a twist of country, flash from the fretboard of Berg and these guys cook! Very nice! On Texas style loper, Drifting , Berg has commanding lead vocals and sets the rhythm riff and Daffy punctuates nicely on harp. Berg takes center stage again laying down a nice helping of Texas style blues rock guitar. Very cool! When You Leave Me is a understated blues in the style of SBW with well placed guitar tones and some of the best vocal work on the release. Berg plays some really nice slide work on this track with Kristian Koppang on keys making it one of my...

I just received the newest release (June 4, 2013), Solo Live From The Meisenfrei Blues Club , by Kirsten Thien . Thien, a Georgetown University Business School grad turned singer has put together a solid 15 track solo album where she expresses herself nicely vocally and accompanies herself on acoustic guitar. One of my favorites on this release, Ain't That The Truth is a clean acoustic folk blues track written by Thien. The release is consistently good including tracks by Ida Cox ( Wild Women Don't Have The Blues ), Dylan( It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry ), Sheryl Crow ( Leaving Las Vegas ), Sippie Wallace ( Women Be Wise )another of my favorites on the release; Elvin Bishop ( Fooled Around And Fell In Love ), Leon Russell ( I'd Rather be Blind ), Bill Withers ( Ain't No Sunshine )and Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell ( The Thrill Is Gone ). A relatively sedate folk blues recording, Thien really uses the stage to showcase her voice nicely. There aren't ...