Bman's Blues Report

  I just had the opportunity to review the newest release Plug In & Play, from Tommy Z and I really like it. Opening with Pumpin' (Let's Have Some Fun) , a full bodied texas blues shuffle, Tommy lets the riffs roll off of his fingers like molasses.  His riffs are sweet, fat and juicy and his phrasing is solid. With Tom Scime on keys pumping up the fullness, Tommy really lets it fly and  David Hulett on drums and Dave Herr on bass, this is a really solid opener. Slow blues, Please Come Back To Me , is one of my favorites on the release with strong vocals by Tommy and controlled lead work that is really effective at raising the tension, balanced with Scime's organ work. Very nice. Title track, P lug in And Play has Rolling Stones or LS style attack on a driving rocker. Tommy MacDonald's bass playing and Tom Hambridge on drums have this track anchored and Z's vocals work great with his guitar swagger. Scowler has a strong radio melody and solid vocal blending by ...

I just received the newest release, Blizzard of Blues , from Tommy Z and it's got style. Opening with Lovergirl has a nice Chicago feel featuring Tommy Z on guitar and vocal, Damone Jackson on drums and Stanley Swampski on bass and featuring Jeremy Keyes on harp. Nice opener. Rocker, Going To A Party , has the sting of a SRV number with a driving beat, monster bass lines an hot riffs by Z on guitar showing why his releases continuously get rave reviews. Memory Of Love stands out immediately with great guitar tone and added organ work by Kein Urso. I particularly like this track with strong lead vocals, warm backing vocals, floating organ and really rugged lead guitar work. Very cool! Blues for KP is a solid slow blues number with meaty creative guitar riffs planted throughout. I really like this track with over 8 minutes of warm runs, jazz chords, fluid blues phrases and plenty of trem bends. Excellent! Shuffle track, Bags of Cool is a smart track with a great walking bass l...

Share This: LEGENDARY BLUESMAN BUDDY GUY TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM "RHYTHM & BLUES" ON JULY 30  PRE-ORDER AT ONLINE RETAILERS JUNE 25 DOUBLE-DISC FEATURES KID ROCK, KEITH URBAN, GARY CLARK, JR., BETH HART AND AEROSMITH MEMBERS STEVEN TYLER, JOE PERRY AND BRAD WHITFORD   Buddy's Website Buddy's Facebook Six-time Grammy Award winner and 2012 Kennedy Center Honoree Buddy Guy will release his new studio album "Rhythm & Blues" on July 30 on RCA Records. The follow-up to his 2010 Grammy Award winning album Living Proof, this double-disc masterpiece features first time studio collaborations with A-list artists Kid Rock, Keith Urban, Gary Clark, Jr., Beth Hart and Aerosmith members Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. Rhythm & Blues will be available for pre-order at all online retailers on June 25. Produced by Grammy Award winning producer/songwriter and longtime collaborator ...

I just received the newest recording, Sometimes , by Tommy Z and it's killer!! First I've got to tell you that I wasn't earlier familiar with Tommy's work and if you aren't, it's high time! The release opens with Roger That , a hot Texas blues guitar powered instrumental along the lines of Coundn't Stand The Weather. This track is flaming white hot and readily fills the void for original hot guitar riffs that have been missing for a lot of years now. Backed by Frank Reino on bass and Damone Jackson on drums this track cranks! Z and the gang take on JG Watson's Gangster of Love and add horns by Sam Guarino, Barry Arbogast and  Gil DeBrasse laying out a great blues butt whoppin version of an already great track. Old Love is a soul style blues with a nice bass lead riff by Jerry Livingston. The singing on this track is definitely in the blue eyed soul (Philly sound) vein set down by Todd Rundgren and Darrel Hall decades ago but the instrumentation is pu...