Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Blues Is Alive and Well, from Buddy Guy and it's strong. Opening with A Few Good Years , Buddy Guy pleads in song for continued good years to remain but his vocals are smooth and his guitar as vibrant as ever. Joined by Tom Hambridge on drums, Rob McNelley on guitar, Kevin McKendree on B3 and Willie Weeks on bass, this hits home. Shuffle track, Guilty As Charged shows a strong romp attitude and you can see that gold tooth glistening as Buddy shouts out guilty and fans his guitar wildly in one of his frantic guitar explosions. Very nice. Cognac , is a real nice 12 bar number featuring not one but two legendary guest guitar players, Keith Richards and Jeff Beck who along with Guy give this track real teeth. Richards' riffs are always standout and Beck's style is remarkable and an absolute signature. Excellent! Title track, The Blues Is Alive And Well is a great R&B fused track with Weeks' instin...

THREE-TIME GRAMMY NOMINEE RUTHIE FOSTER TRANSFORMS SORROW INTO CAREER-DEFINING SOUL/BLUES/GOSPEL/ROCK OPUS JOY COMES BACK , RELEASING MARCH 24 ON BLUE CORN MUSIC Derek Trucks, Willie Weeks, Joe Vitale, Warren Hood among guests on songs by Chris Stapleton, Mississippi John Hurt, Stevie Wonder and even Black Sabbath AUSTIN, Texas — In the tightknit musical community of Austin, Texas, it’s tough to get away with posturing. You either bring it, or you don’t. If you do, word gets around. Praises are sung. And one day, you find yourself duetting with Bonnie Raitt, or standing onstage with the Allman Brothers at New York’s Beacon Theater and trading verses with Susan Tedeschi. You might even wind up getting n...