Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Confessin' My Dues , by Terry Robb , and I really like it. Opening with Butch Holler Stomp , a smoking hot finger pickers delight, Robb, regarded as one of the top finger picking blues guitarists shows why! Excellent opener! On, It Might Get Sweaty , Robb is joined by Dave Captein on bass and Gary Hobbs on drums for a funkier blues number with a definite jazzy edge. Robb literally smokes the fretboard with Captein and Hobbs holding the bottom solid. Very nice. In the pure blues vein, Darkest Road I'm Told , has strong blues runs and solid vocals by Robb. My favorite track on the release, Three Times The Blues explores the T Bone Walker style of blues with deep feeling, excellent runs and solid phrasing, backed by Captein on bass and Hobbs on drums. Very nice.  Title track, Confessin' My Dues has a great country blues feel with a springy rhythm and confident phrases. In Rev Gary Davis style, Death Of Blind A...

Considered one of the top acoustic blues guitarists on the West Coast, Terry Robb is also an inventive and ever-evolving American primitive master. As an heir to the late, great John Fahey’s musical legacy, Robb is an established icon in a pantheon that includes Robbie Basho, Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, John Renbourn, and Stefan Grossman. Because American primitivism, a transitional style that ranges between country blues and early 20th century string-band music, is often nuanced by dissonance and minor tunings, it is sometimes considered esoteric and obscure, appealing only to a musically intellectual elite. But Robb has distinguished himself by redefining this complex finger-picking style, using popular and traditional genres to open up and make this approach accessible to the general music-loving public. Robb is that rare talent, a musician’s musician and an enormously popular performer. Onstage, his fleet fingers, wry humor, and intense focus mesmerize audiences. The passionate ar...