Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Live , from Chris "Bad News" Barnes it's  a full blown boogie rocker. Opening with Back In A Cadillac , Barnes leads with his vocal power, joined by Gary Hoey on lead guitar, Steve Guyger onharp and backed by Sandy MacDonald on piano, AJ Pappas on bass, Matt Scurfield on drums, Mark Earley on sax, Doug Woolverton on trumpet and Gracie Curran on backing vocal. Little Walter's Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights gets a faster rockier pace and a strong harmonica solo by Guyger, nice sax solo by Earley, wicked guitar work by Hoey and full trumpet work by Woolverton give the track real oomph. Gravelly vocals by Barnes on a lumbering version of Morganfield's Hoochie Coochie Man is real nice with a humping bass line by Pappas and greasy solos by both Hoey and Guyger give the track a real grind. With it's Bo Diddley beat, It's Tight Like Tha t, has Curran echoing Barnes lead vocals and wicked slide by ...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Lock Up The Liquor , from the Little Red Rooster Blues Band and it's a lot of fun. Opening with instrumental shuffle track, Pitchin' Woo ,  Dave Holtzman leads the melody on harp, backed by Kevin McCann on guitar, Jeff Michael on bass, Bob Holden on drums and  special guest Anthony Geraci on piano. Kickin' it Chicago style, Rather Be Lonesome gives Holtzman a real opportunity to be out front on harp and lead vocal but it's his tribute to James Cotton on Cotton Mouth that the band really shines with Holtzman really winding it up! Jump track, Thrift Shop Rubbers , uses a clever play on words for a fun track with smooth vocals and hot harp work. On Nothing Left Between Us , the band slows it way down for a deep blues with solid solos by McCann, Holtzman and Geraci. Boogie track, There Oughta be A Law , has a cool groove. good vocals, a snappy guitar solo and cool harp work. Very nice. Alternating back and ...

I just received the new release, Blues With A Mood , by Big Bill Morganfield and it's quite good. Opening with Muddy's Look At What You Done , Morganfield wastes no time at all getting into a cool Chicago groove. Featuring Morganfield on vocal, Steve Guyger this is a great track. Havin' Fun is a slower number along the lines of How Long Blues. Augie Meyers plays a very nice piano piece on this and is joined by Colin Linden with some cool acoustic guitar work. Money's Gettin' Cheaper opens with Eddie Taylor Jr. on a real sweet T-Bone style guitar solo and Morganfield delivers on a real nice Texas style loping blues. This is a real cool swing blues track. Willie Dixon's Ooh Wee provides a nice platform for Big Bill's vocals and the strong harp attack of Guyger who really does a nice job on this track. No Butter For Miy Grits is a swampy old style track with nice slide work from Linden and adds harp work from Richard Doc Malone. A story telling style track...

Steve Guyger is one of the finest blues harmonica players and singers in the world today. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Steve still makes his home in Philly and can be seen on a regular basis at clubs in the tri-state area in addition to touring with the New Legends of the Blues All-Stars. If you're located within a 100 mile radius of Philadelphia, PA check out Steve's schedule for dates and times when he's appearing live and in person. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”