CLICK ON TITLE BELOW TO GO TO PURCHASE!!!!
CD submissions accepted! Guest writers always welcome!!
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!
I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Make Blues Not War, from Mike Zito and it's crazy good! Opening with blues rocker, Highway Mama, this track gives you that take no prisoners attitude with a driving beat courtesy of Tom Hambridge who absolutely blows it up on drums and Tommy MacDonald on bass, Mike Zito on lead vocal and guitar, Rob McNelley on guitar and Water Trout on guitar. Trout plays some really hot riffs and Zito absolutely scorches the strings. Excellent opener. Wasted Time is up next with a great lumbering Texas lope, Zito lays down stuff that would make SRV proud, with intensity and feel. Very nice! Redbird is a heavy footed, rocker with strong vocals. Solid bass lines from MacDonald positively drive this bus and it's rolling hard. Talk about intensity, Crazy Legs has it x 10. This track is on fire and running hard with excellent drum work by Hambridge and super guitar tone. Zito really turns on the heat on this one literally setting the thing on fire. Wow! Slowing it way down, title track, Make Blues Not War has the characteristics of delta blues and early electric Muddy Waters. Jason Ricci is down on this track and he and Zito really dig in on this one with harp and slide fanning the flames. Very nice. On The Road has some funk with really sweet organ work from Kevin McKendree and stirring some of the funkiest guitar riffs that I've heard since David Spinozza hit "Right Place Wrong Time". Sure to be an instant favorite on the release is Bad News Is Coming, a slow, low down blues with excellent guitar phrasing and hard luck soulful vocals. Excellent!! Detroit style rocker, One More Train, has a really nice feel with excellent vocals, super slide work from Ricci and great piano work from McKendree making it my pick for radio track that should hit hard. Girl Back Home is a quiet ballad with rich slide work making it a standout on feel alone. Chip Off The Old Block features Mike's son, Zach on guitar over a basic 12 bar setup. Zach shows his stuff which is quite cool and with McKendree on piano and Mike on vocal and guitar, a real solid track. Ballad, Road Dog is another sure radio track with a super melody and strong construction. McKendree's organ, Hambridge's tight drum work and Zito's vocals and somber guitar work, ala BB King give this track excellent grip. Love it! Wrapping the release is Route 90, a Chuck Berry style track featuring an excellent piano solo by McKendree over a great bass line by MacDonald. Zito digs in at the bottom of the fretboard and with his own super vocals and southern style make this track a great closer. I don't think I'm going out on a limb very far saying that this will be one of the top 10 releases I'll hear this year and moving Zito to the top of the list of bands I hope to see this year.
Excellent!!
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
“Like” Bman’s Facebook page and get support for your favorite band or venue - click HERE
I just received the newest release, A Force of Nature, from Sari Schorr and it's interesting. Opening with Ain't Got No Money, a slinky rocker, Schorr has the lead on vocal and is nicely backed by Innes Sibun and Quique Bonal on guitar, Julian Maeso on keyboards, Nani Conde on bass, Jose Mena on drums and Mike Vernon on percussion. Bouncy rocker, Aunt Hazel has a light country flair. Schorr's vocals are powerful and interesting guitar blending gives the track nice texture. Ballad, Damn The Reason, is nicely supported by Maeso's organ work and Oli Brown steps up with lightning flash guitar riffs. Sassy, Cat and Mouse, shows a different dimension in Schorr's vocals, with a cool funk beat under the track and slick guitar riffs over the top. Ledbelly's Black Betty gets a real nice remake hugging tight to early blues roots but kicking it in a whole new heavy rock style. Very nice! Walter Trout's Work No More features Walter Trout's soaring guitar riffs over a real solid bottom bass line and piano by Dave Keyes. One of the hottest tracks on the release, Trout really lights it up. Demolition Man has an easy shuffle pace, showcasing Schorr's vocals and finds Sibun trading riffs with Maeso. Cool. Oklahoma has a smooth jazzy feel and Schorr's vocals work nicely in this arena. Brown is back with cool ringing chords and nicely articulated lead work. Ballad, Letting Go, showcases the richness of Schoor's vocal style with Jesus Lavillas on keys. Sibun steps up with a really soulful guitar solo on this track making it one of my favorite originals on the release. My absolute favorite track on the release is a soulful take on HDH's Stop! In The Name Of Love, made popular by The Supremes. This is an excellent track and an excellent interpretation that would commonly go unnoticed as a cover. Unquestionably the best track on the release, it features soulful vocals, strong guitar work and solid backing vocals by Rietta Austin. Excellent! Wrapping the release is Ordinary Life, a simple vocal ballad accompanied by piano. Quiet and subtle, a very nice closer for a solid release.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!- ”LIKE”
For added exposure - Blues World Wide Group "LIKE"
Walter Trout announces new release,
‘ALIVE in Amsterdam’, recorded live in Amsterdam
on the blues legend’s comeback tour
& released June 17th on Mascot/Provogue.
Battle Scars World
Tour to hit the US and Europe this year.
To
be released June 17th on Mascot/Provogue, ‘ALIVE in Amsterdam’ is the sound of
a man announcing his resurrection after a period on the ropes. As Trout’s army
of international fans are painfully aware, recent times have taken the
bandleader to the brink, following a bleak diagnosis of life-threatening liver
failure and hepatitis C in 2013. Trout’s rebirth began with a successful
transplant in May 2014, and gathered pace with 2015’s ‘Battle Scars’: the
acclaimed studio album that channeled his near-death experience into raw
autobiographical songs.
Yet
for this lifelong road-warrior, a return to the stage was always the ultimate
goal. And last summer, as Trout headed out on a comeback tour that blew the
roof off venues from the Royal Albert Hall to Buddy Guy’s Legends club in
Chicago, every fan in the house saw that the man wasn’t just back, he was
better than ever. “That whole tour was kinda triumphant for me,” Trout
reflects. “Just to be back, after what I went through. But also to be playing
with a renewed energy and commitment.
With
songs pulled from every era of his five-decade career, the ‘ALIVE in Amsterdam’
set is potent stuff indeed, from the stinging Luther Allison cover “I’m Back,”
to the plaintive B.B. King tribute “Say Goodbye To The Blues,” which builds
from neck-tingling guitar swells to a stunning virtuoso climax. ‘Battle Scars’
is well-represented by the harmony-bolstered rocker “Almost Gone” and the
raucous “Tomorrow Seems So Far Away,” while Trout is joined by his son Jon for
“Rock Me Baby,” and even finds time for a fistful of fan favorites, including
“The Love That We Once Knew” and “Marie’s Mood.” “You can hear that a guy yells
out for ‘Marie’s Mood,’” he laughs. “I actually hadn’t planned on doing that
one…”
Urgent,
impassioned and electrifying, it’s a live album to treasure, and the perfect
appetite-whetter as Trout heads out on tour this year, stopping off at some of
the most prestigious venues and festivals in the US and Europe. Walter
shows you magic in the studio, of course. But it’s on the stage where he truly
comes alive. “I get into the energy and the moment and the excitement of it
all,” he says. “I think I’m a very different guitarist live…”
