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I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!


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Showing posts with label The Luckiest Man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Luckiest Man. Show all posts

Monday, November 6, 2017

Stony Plain Records artist: Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters - The Luckiest Man - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (November 17, 2017), The Luckiest Man, from Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters and it's really strong. Opening with Don Robey's Ain't That Loving You, and a great groove featuring Diane Blue on vocals, the band is smoking. Earl's perfect syncopation on his solos backed by Dave Limina on keys, Forrest Padgett on drums and Paul Kochanski on bass...excellent opener. Jim's Song is a quiet, introspective track using primarily guitar chords as the skeleton and guitar lead soloing as a lush environmental flesh. Very nice. With a cool swing, Blue is back up front on Heartbreak (It's Hurtin' Me). Limina really takes the floor with his B3 solo and Earl tears it up nicely with great balance and style. Soul track, Never Gonna Break My Faith really shows off Blue's vocal style at it's best. Earl and Limina carry the weight, but this track is all about Blue and she kills it. Sugar Ray Norcia's slow blues, Long Lost Conversation features Sugar Ray on lead vocal and harp, backed by Anthony Geraci on piano, Mike Welsh on guitar, Neil Gouvin on drums, Mudcat Ward on bass and of course Earl on lead guitar. This track is extended (over 10 minutes) and excellent! Blues For Magic Sam is another excellent track. Purely instrumental, Earl plays the melody of this excellent track with expressive confidence, technique and style. Really nice!  Wrapping the release is Fenton Robinson's You Don't Know What Love Is with it's funky beat. Blue is back up front on lead vocal works really nicely with Earl adding as much strength vocally as Earl does on guitar. This is a really strong closer for a really solid release.



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Monday, October 9, 2017

Guitar Master Ronnie Earl Set to Release New CD, "The Luckiest Man", on November 17 from Stony Plain Records

Guitar Master Ronnie Earl Set to Release New CD, The Luckiest Man, on November 17 from
Stony Plain Records
 Stony Plain Records proudly announces the November 17 release of the latest CD from multi Blues Music Award-winning guitarist Ronnie Earl and his band, the Broadcasters, The Luckiest Man. Ronnie Earl calls the album, “A traditional blues album of remembrance, love, and unwavering resolve to live with faith and gratitude.” The new disc was recorded at Woolly Mammoth Studios, Waltham, Mass.; Keep the Edge Studio, Quincy, Mass.; and in Groton, Mass.

Listen to a sample of The Luckiest Man here: http://bit.ly/WatchLuckiestMan
On The Luckiest Man, Ronnie and the Broadcasters, both current as well as some of the earliest members, contribute to the new album, which follows the sudden loss of Jim Mouradian, the band’s beloved bass player following a show in January. Mouradian was also a respected guitar luthier, family man and a gentleman. This musical journey through loss and healing can be felt in the hauntingly beautiful “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” and in Ronnie’s tender tribute to his brother on “Jim’s Song.” Life moves ever onward in the pulse and beat of “Heartbreak,” and faith takes hold in “Never Gonna Break My Faith.” For the song, “Long Lost Conversation,” Ronnie is reunited with some of the earliest Broadcasters and current members of Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, who were on his first albums in 1983, all of whom contributed to this truly being a family band project: Sugar Ray Norcia – vocals, harp; Anthony Geraci – piano; Mike Welch – guitar; Neil Gouvin – drums; Michael "Mudcat" Ward – double bass & Fender bass.

The title of the album, The Luckiest Man, is a phrase and response spoken by Jim Mouradian who always lived with gratitude in his heart and who never wasted a moment of his life: “I’m the luckiest man you know — and I don’t even know who you know.” 

Besides the original songs on The Luckiest Man, Ronnie Earl puts his own, indelible stamp on interpretations of “Ain’t That Loving You,” “So Many Roads” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is.”

In addition to Ronnie Earl on guitar, the Broadcasters include Dave Limina – piano and Hammond B3; Diane Blue – vocals; Forrest Padgett – drums; and Paul Kochanski – bass. Guest musicians on the new disc also include Nicholas Tabarias – guitar; Mark Earley – baritone sax;
Mario Perrett – tenor sax; and Peter Ward – guitar.

They say that you can’t keep a good man down and that inner resolve is both heard and felt within each song on The Luckiest Man, Ronnie Earl’s twenty-fifth album and his eleventh on Stony Plain Records. Since 1983, Ronnie Earl has released a series of traditional blues albums, often interlaced with jazz, gospel and soul offerings; however he has always returned home to his “mother music” which is traditional blues. Ronnie Earl continues to be one of the most emotive blues guitarists today, whose musical voicings deal with loss and healing, gratitude and love, compassion and passion. Indeed, it is those emotional touchstones within his music, which is so beautifully reflected in the swirl of colors expressed in artist Tom Noll’s painting of Ronnie on the cover.

The Luckiest Man confirms Ronnie Earl's status as one of the most soulful blues/soul/jazz guitarists working today. He is a three-time Blues Music Award winner as “Guitar Player of the Year,” a DownBeat magazine winner for “Blues Album of the Year,” an Associate Professor of Guitar at Berklee College of Music and has taught at the National Guitar summer workshop in Connecticut. 





The Luckiest Man Track Listing

1.      Ain’t That Loving You           5:38
Don D. Robey, Manitou Music (Canada)
2.      Southside Stomp         4:13
Ronnie Earl, Mr. Earl Publishing, BMI
3.      Death Don’t Have No Mercy 6:00
Gary Davis, Chandos Music Company
4.      Jim’s Song       3:00
Ronnie Earl, Mr. Earl Publishing, BMI
5.      Heartbreak (It’s Hurtin’ Me)  6:43
Jon Thomas & Carlee Hoyless, Songs of Universal Inc.
6.      Howlin’ Blues 4:11
Traditional arranged and adapted by Ronnie Earl, Mr. Earl Publishing, BMI          
7.      Never Gonna Break My Faith            5:25
Andrea Remanda, Eliot John Kennedy & Bryan Adams, Remandamusic & Badams Music Limited
8.      Long Lost Conversation         10:15
R. Norcia, Norcia Publishing, BMI
9.      Sweet Miss Vee          4:16
Ronnie Earl, Mr. Earl Publishing, BMI
10.  Blues for Magic Sam  5:24
Ronnie Earl, Mr. Earl Publishing, BMI
11.  So Many Roads          10:52
Paul Marshall, Arc Music Corporation

12.  You Don’t Know What Love Is                     4:04
Fenton Robinson, Eyeball Music