Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Bad Intention , from Slim Butler and it's terrific! Slim has great style and it's been too long since I reviewed his last release Inner Blues back in 2013. Opening with All About You a cool R&B style blueser, a la Robert Cray, Tad Robinson shows just how sweet his voice is on soulful music and with a tight band lead by Jarmo " Slim" Puhakka on nicely stylized guitar riffs, Esko Ollila on drums, Harri Taitonen on keys and Hannu Lehtomaa on bass and punched up by the horn section (Slimcuts) of Tapio Maunuvaara on trumpet, Jukka-Pekka Peltoniemi on trumpet, Olli Tuomainen on tenor sax and Antti Napankangas on trombone. Great opener. On driving rocker, Mean Trouble , Andrew Black has the mic with a heavier feel and Slim keeps things close on guitar. On funky, Junk In The Trunk , you get a definite Tower Of Power feel with nice horn work, Black again on lead vocal and excellent drum work from Olli...

I just received the newest release, Inner Blues , from Slim Butler and it really smokes! Opening with Mr Big Shot , this band is crankin from the start. Featuring Andrew Black on vocal and Jarmo Pahakka and Otis Grand on guitar this track is a real burner. What Have You Done , featuring Sugar Ray Norcia on vocals and Puhakka on guitars is a slow R&B style blues and it is right on target. Juhani Vitikka on keys, Hannu Lehtomaa on bass, and Markku Orislahti on drums round out the band on this great track. Jarmo has a real sweet ability to hold back on the guitar and then explode with hot meaningful riffs. Super! Never Lose My Soul , another R&B style track but with a bit of Latin influence features Norcia and his silver throat again on vocals and Jarmo plays some really tasty electric and acoustic classically influenced guitar riffs setting this track apart. A Heart Of Ice again features Black on vocals and finds a real guitar partnership to reckon with. Otis Grand playing a ho...