Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Strip It Down , by Casey James and it's quite good. Opening with blues rocker, All I Need , Tommy MacDonald sets a Ray Manzarek style bass groove and Casey James on lead vocal and guitar takes the bait. His vocals are gritty and his guitar tone is warm and rich. Backed by Kevin McKendree on Wurlitzer, Tom Hambridge on drums and Ron McNelley on rhythm guitars, this is a band made in heaven. Two stepper, Bulletproof, has a great feel and Delbert McClinton joins on vocal giving it great style and screaming harp work gives it great edge. Hurt Me More has a real nice Texas lope where McKendree's dancing key work nicely compliments James' vocals and guitar riffs. Very nice. Pat Buchanan's harp work sets the tone for Latin flavored blues number, I Got To Go with a great sound. Hambridge's tight rhythm patterns drive this track, McKendree's B3 solo adds color and James guitar soloing and vocals are to...

Former “American Idol” Finalist Casey James Returns to His Texas Blues Roots on Latest Album, Strip It Down Singer/Guitarist’s Album Produced by Grammy-Winner Tom Hambridge & Features Guest Duet with Delbert McClinton NASHVILLE, TN – “All I want to do is play music,” says singer/guitarist, Casey James. “Stripping it back to just me making a record of music that I love was a huge stepping stone in my life.” Released June 9, Strip It Down , his new album produced by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge and featuring a guest duet with the legendary Delbert McClinton, does just that. It’s titled Strip It Down because it’s exactly what Casey James did – shed off the layers of stylized artistic clothing that he’d been given in those other public ventures to find the real artist underneath, a guy with a convincing, smokey vocal quality and a burning, lyrical skill with a guitar. Recorded at Sound Stage Studio and The Switchyard in Nashville, Strip It Down is a glori...