Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Mississippi Suitcase , from Peter Parcek and it may be his best yet. Opening with The World Is Upside Down , Peter Parcek opens his grittiest and rockinist release, with a driving rhythm and blazing guitar. With a rock modified blues track, Parcek has lead vocal and guitar, backed by Tim Carman on drums, Tom West on keys, and Marc Hickox on bass. Really solid.  With it's march style snare drum rhythm, Everybody Oughta Make A Change has a cool, relaxed blues feel. Parcek's vocals and lead guitar seem to float over the tight drum pattern giving the track a different kind of feel. Very nice. Bob Dylan's, Beyond Here Lies Nothing, has an interesting, easy Latin feel, reminding me of early Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac Blues band with nice slide work and phrasing by Parcek. Followed by The Supernatural , a strong Peter Green composition, Parcek really works the fretboard over with a strong guitar lead composition...

I just had the opportunity to review the new release, Peace in Pieces , from the Betty Fox Band and it's hot. Opening with rocker, Green Light , The Betty Fox Band shows soulful radio style. With full organ enrichment by Clayton Ivey and super backing vocals by Cindy Walker, Marie Levy and Fox, a solid opener. Marie is a really strong soul track with a beautiful melody and full horns by Brad Guin on sax, Ken Watters on trumpet over the vocal choir giving the track a rich gospel feel. A real nice guitar solo by Josh Nelms sets off the track but this one is a great showcase for the vocal strength of Fox. Excellent! Let Go Or Be Dragged is another really powerful track with a great rhythm line by Barry Williams on bass and Chris Peet on drums. One of the other promos that I saw compared Fox to Hart or James but I hear the style purity of Winehouse. This girl has real sass in her tone that I rarely hear. Another tight guitar solo by Nelms adds real spice. R&B style track, Sw...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven , by Peter Parcek and it's quite good. Opening with Peter Green's, World Keep On Turning , Parcek presents a dark, drum heavy track with flashy guitar. Solid blues rocker. On Blind Lemon Jefferson's, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean , Parcek's guitar chords are shimmery and haunting, his vocal interpretation is excellent and his solo guitar work is eerie. I've heard this track done numerous times by modern players but none as well as this. Very nice. Instrumental, Pat Hare has a country blues flair with modified chicken pickin' and cool harp work from Mickey Raphael. Ashes To Ashes is a really nice contemporary number with strong, ancient bone from Lil' Son Jones with slashing slide work and cool harp work from Raphael. Shiver has a cool mid century surf rock beat lead by Parcek's guitar and reinforced by Marco Giovino on drums. Andy Sanfospago lays in so...