Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blind Raccoon and NOLA Blue Collection Vol. 4 , and it's a solid mix of blues and rock tracks. Opening with blues rocker, Sorry , Mark Cameron shows solid vocals, slide guitar and harmonica carrying a radio worthy melody. Funky blues rocker, Devil in the Dark is a cool entry by Michele D' Amour & The Love Dealers. With strong organ support and cool guitar and sax solos,  this track has a laid back feel. Trudy Lynn covers a Bluesbusters' track, If Your Phone Don't Ring and with just the right strut, and blues attitude, this is one of my favorites on the release. Wily Bo Walker's I Want To Know has a real nice R&B feel with interwoven bass, guitar and keyboard backing under Walker's infectious lead and backing vocals. Very nice. Super shuffle, Back Door Woman Blues by the Waydown Wailers sets a nice pace with strong vocals and a cool piano/guitar exchange. David Gogo sets up a simple guita...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Ain't No Man A Good Man , from Wily Bo Walker & Danny Flam and it's a cool mix of rock, R&B and soul. Opening with title track, Ain't No Man A Good Man , Wily Bo Walker on lead vocal and guitar is upfront and wailing. His vocals are raw and his guitar lead bluesy. Backed by Danny Flam on trombone, trumpet, sousaphone, Hammond and vocal this is a cool opener. Did I Forget , has a real nice 60's R&B swing with sax and trumpet reeling. Cool sax work by Ron Bertolet and solid trumpet work by Flam really caps the track. One of my favorite tracks on the release, Velvet Windows (Treme Trippin') has a great New Orleans funky feel with tight trumpet and Hammond work, with great bari sax work giving it a terrific woven mix. Ain't Hungry No More is another really cool track with it's reggae beat and super trumpet accents, snappy snare drum, and guitar lead. Blues shuffle, Time to Forget You...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Almost Transparent Blues , from Wily Bo Walker and it's quite interesting. Opening with Chattahoochee Coochee Man , a horn pressed rocker, featuring Wily Bo Walker on vocal and guitar, backed by Tony Gorruso on trumpet. Fenton Robinson's Loan Me A Dime is up next with a more melancholy feel than Robinson's original or the more popular of the remakes by Boz Scaggs (with Duane Allman). I really like Walker's vocals on this track and Myron Brayshaw has a soulful but more modern metallic guitar take on the track giving it fresh wings with warm backing vocals. Very nice. Storm Warning is a driving rocker with an almost anthemic feel and modern riffs. Raw and rugged lead vocals backed by particularly solid backing vocals give this radio style track solid footing. Motel Blues has a really cool resonator intro and maintaining an acoustic feel with acoustic guitar and mandolin backing, breaking out with a star...