Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Mutual Admiration Society , from Sterling Ball, John Ferraro and Jim Cox and it's got a cool vibe. Opening with Jesse Winchester's Payday Song, an instrumental featuring Ball on guitar and bass, Ferraro on drums and Cox on clavinet. a simple rock shuffle, a cool opener. The In Crowd , is jazzed up instrumental version of  Billy Page's 60's hit and features Steve Morse giving it his country flavored jazz lead. Nice. Sonny Boy Williamson's Checkin' Up On My Baby has up tempo beat and is the stripped down 3 some featuring snappy riffs from Ball and organ by Cox. Ball's driving bass line is king on Big Joe William's Baby Please Don't Go and Steve Lukather does a real nice job with modern blurred guitar work to compliment the rock style take. Roy Head's Treat Her Right has a detuned (less HP) feel with it's swinging shuffle. Cox is featured on piano and organ and Ball lays i...

SUPERSONIC BLUES MACHINE ANNOUNCE THE GLOBAL RELEASE OF  CALIFORNISOUL ON OCTOBER 20 VIA MASCOT LABEL GROUP / PROVOGUE ALL-STAR CAST INCLUDES BILLY GIBBONS, STEVE LUKATHER, ERIC GALES, WALTER TROUT AND ROBBEN FORD Los Angeles, CA – Supersonic Blues Machine, featuring Fabrizio Grossi (bass / producer), Lance Lopez (guitar / vocals) and Kenny Aronoff (drums) has announced the global release of CALIFORNISOUL ! On October 20 via Mascot Label Group / Provogue Records.  The title, available on CD, double vinyl, download and streaming, presents the sound the band spent much of 2017 sharing with audiences from Texas to Holland and India to St. Petersburg, Russia, picking up right where the they left off on their well-received debut record, West of Flushing, South of Frisco . Grossi shares, ““ CALIFORNISOUL ! That’s exactly what it is. It’s the missing soundtrack to a summertime drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 1971!” Recorded at Fab’s Lab in North Holl...

Blues, Rock & Metal Guitar Slingers Salute Legend Jeff Beck On A Newly Reissued Collection! Includes performances by Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars, Toto’s Steve Lukather, and blues icon Walter Trout plus George Lynch, Jake E. Lee and more! Los Angeles, CA - Some of the world’s finest guitarists offer a master class in the arduous art and subtle science of playing Jeff Beck songs on Jeffology: A Guitar Chronicle , a collection of extraordinary cover versions of Beck’s best-known songs, played with all the fevered intensity and dynamic skill these virtuosos could muster. The album will be reissued with all new artwork by Deadline Music this October 2. Founding member of platinum selling UK hard rockers Def Leppard, Phil Collen, offers a stunning and emotional interpretation of the gorgeous ballad “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” while blues man Walter Trout burns the house down with his rendition of “Blues Deluxe.” Former Ozzy axeman Jake...

Mascot Label Group will release the highly anticipated seventh solo album “Transition” by guitarist, vocalist, composer/producer/arranger, Steve Lukather , on Monday 21st January 2013 .  One of the original founding members of the multi-million selling rock band TOTO , Lukather will showcase his innate feel for rock and jazz guitar music, along with his impeccable song writing talents. Transition showcases extraordinary guitar playing performed across some of the most heartfelt songs of Steve’s career. Transition strikes a perfect balance of style, power and imagination as Lukather takes risks and faces challenges in ways most other players can’t fathom. Over the previous decade a series of trials including divorce, the death of his mother and business hassles had dampened his joy in music making — a passion that drove Lukather to excel since seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan as a seven-year-old growing up in San Fernando Valley. T...

Mascot Label Group will release the highly anticipated seventh solo album “Transition” by guitarist, vocalist, composer/producer/arranger, Steve Lukather , on Monday 21st January 2013 . One of the original founding members of the multi-million selling rock band TOTO , Lukather will showcase his innate feel for rock and jazz guitar music, along with his impeccable song writing talents. Transition showcases extraordinary guitar playing performed across some of the most heartfelt songs of Steve’s career. Transition strikes a perfect balance of style, power and imagination as Lukather takes risks and faces challenges in ways most other players can’t fathom. Over the previous decade a series of trials including divorce, the death of his mother and business hassles had dampened his joy in music making — a passion that drove Lukather to excel since seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan as a seven-year-old growing up in San Fernando Valley. Tod...

I just received a copy of Leslie Wests new recording, Unusual Suspects. The release is well put together and has all the pyrotechnics expected from a Leslie West recording. I don't know how many of you have been keeping up with West's recent releases but his last 4 or 5 releases have been primarily blues recordings and really spectacular. West has a great voice for blues and of course then there's his guitar tone!! Alas no videos from these releases so I'm happy to be able to finally present you with some real footage!! This release is more rock in nature but still has the blues overtones and plenty of guitar to go around. Leslie West, Legendary guitarist and the founder of one of rocks most influential bands, Mountain, will release a brand new solo album, 'Unusual Suspects', on Monday September 19th. The album features West alongside a hand-picked line-up of the world's finest guitar players; including Slash, blues-rock guitarist Joe Bona...