Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Need To Know , from Yates McKendree and I really like it. Opening with solid blues number, Burnin' Tears , Yates McKendree on lead guitar and vocal really sets a nice pace. With Steve Mackey on bass, Griffin Photoglou on drums, Robert Frahm on rhythm guitar and Kevin McKendree on piano and Hammond , Yates vocals are strong and his BB King flavored guitar attack really fits this track perfectly. Excellent opener. Run It In The Ground is a super hot runner with Muddy Waters roots. Yates is really riding high on lead vocal and his guitar work sails with Kevin and Frahm kicking it with heavy support by Griffin. James Brown 's, I Don't Care gets a real nice cover by Yates with his soulful voice and solid horn backing by Steve Herrman on trumpet, John Hinchey on trombone and standout sax work by Jim Hoke on tenor and bari sax . Chris Kenner 's Something You Got has a real nice funk underpinning by Kev...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Common Sense , by Gary Nicholson and it's a mix of pop, rock, country and blues. Opening with What A Little Love Will Do , a country rock flavored pop track, Gary Nicholson on vocal and guitars leads the way with vocal backing by Harry Stinson, joined by Kevin McKendree on guitar, Jim Hoke on guitar, Lynn Williams on drums and Mike Joyce on bass. Laid back country shuffle, Make Good Trouble featured some of Nicholson's best vocals on the release and The McCrary Sisters on backing vocals Mike Finnegan on organ and piano, Hutch Hutchison on bass, Tony Braunegal on drums and John Jorgensen on guitar. We Don't Talk About It is a cool track with Nicholson and The McCrary Sisters ramping the vocals up. McKendree on piano really kicks up the juice and Jim Hoke on harmonica gives the track a real zing. Another favorite is Follow The Money with a funky blues feel. Jim Hoke on steel guitar and sax gives this track some...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Franklin Sessions , from Mike Guldin and Rollin' and Tumblin' and it's a solid set of contemporary blues. Opening with The Franklin Shuffle , Mike Guldin leads the way on vocal and guitar, backed by Yates McKendree on drums, James Pennebaker on guitar, and David Santos on bass. With a nice guitar lope and sparkling piano work by Kevin, this track cuts a nice groove. With a nice soulful feel, The Right Thing finds The McCrary Sisters backing Guldin on vocals, Kevin on organ, Yates adding some real nice lap steel, Bill Sharrow on bass, Tim Hooper on piano and Billy Wear on drums. Very cool. Yates really shines on guitar on Blow Wind Blow with a super bass groove by Sharrow, and Wear on drums. Guldin on lead vocal and Kevin really getting the organ going makes this one of my favorites on the release. Smokin' Woman has a deep groove with Sharrow leading the way on bass. Guldin's vocals have just the r...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, With A Little Help From Her Friends , from Teresa James and it's quite good. Everybody knows the Beatles songbook and many of their tracks have been covered but James has really done a nice job in reinterpreting this list of top tracks. Opening with Ticket To Ride , Teresa James shows all of the style that she's known for and with a Texas saunter and with a strong bottom by Terry Wilson on bass and Richard Millsap on drums, super keys by Kevin McKendree and excellent guitar riffs by Wilson. Don't Let Me Down was an excellent choice for this set. James' voice is made for it and McKendree on piano and organ really works nicely with Wilson on slide. Excellent. Oh Darlin' sets itself nicely as a blues ballad and pairing James' vocals with Yates McKendree on lead guitar really is stellar. Beautiful, You Won't See Me , is really an excellent choice with soulful vocals by James and just the right ble...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release,  Buchanan Lane , from  Yates McKendree  on the indie Qualified Records label, and it moves. Opening with jazzy  Out Crowd , Yates on piano sets a great stage, backed by his father Kevin McKendree and Big Joe Maher on drums and percussion. Excellent opener. On BB King's  Ruby Lee , Yates moves over to guitar and lead vocal showing excellent versatility. With classic rhumba/blues styling, this track really swings. Backed by Kevin on piano, Steve Mackey on bass, Jim Hoke on sax, Andrew Carney on trumpet and Roland Barber on trombone, this track is tight. Original track,  No Justice  really digs in with Yates playing lead guitar, bass, drums and organ (and singing) joined by Kevin on piano. If you wonder if this kid has chops... listen to this track. Excellent! Earl King's funky R&B blues number,  Always A Good Time  gives Yates a chance to show even more style on vocal and...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Let It Be Revisited: An Ovation From Nashville , by The Rock House All Stars and it's a cool cover of the Stones tenth US album. Opening with Gimme Shelter , Jimmy Hall (Ex Wet Willie, Jeff Beck, etc) is upfront on vocal joined by Bekka Bramlett and they do a terrific job. Kevin McKendree on guitar really does a nice job covering the guitar lead and Yates McKendree is tight on drums with John Heithaus on bass with added harmonica by Hall. Lee Roy Parnell adds some real country to Honky Tonk Women called Country Honk here. Not at all trying to replicate Jagger and with Rob McNelley on guitar and Luke Bulla on harmonica, this is a great track. Rick Huckaby is up front on Midnight Rambler joined by Stephen Hanner on harmonica and solid guitar work by Kevin and McNelley. Nalani Rothrock on lead vocal and James Pennebaker on steel adds a real nice contrast to the release on You Got The Silver and it's authentic R&B...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Outdated Emotion , from Delbert McClinton and it's a assemblage of the songs that influenced him the most. Opening with traditional folk track updated and made popular by Lloyd Price, Stagger Lee, McClinton uses mostly Price's arrangement and with a vocal intro by Robert Bailey, the likes of Yates McKendree on drums, Kevin McKendree on piano, Jim  Hoke on sax, and with vocal backing by Wendy Moten and Vicki Hampton this track is a solid opener. Jimmy Reed's The Sun is Shining and it's classic shuffle beat provides a great slot for McClinton vocally joined by Yates, Kevin and includes McClinton on harmonica. Little Richard's Long Tall Sally really gets up and goes with McClinton really feeling the lyrics, Yates on bass and drums, Kevin on piano and featuring Hoke on sax. Great track. One of favorite tracks on the release is Ray Charles' I Want A Little Girl and McClinton singing sweet soul with K...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Golden Girl , from Trudy Lynn and I really like it. Opening with Tell Me and it's cool rhythm, Trudy Lynn really hits the road running lending no clues that she's reached that golden 75 mile marker. With the tasty guitar soloing of Yates McKendree, backing vocals of Teresa James, Brannen Temple on drums, Kevin McKendree on drums and Terry Wilson on bass this is a solid opener. Heavy footed If Your Phone Don't Ring , will have you slinking around in your seat and Lynn's vocals are really strong. Adding to the mix is Steve Krase on harmonica and real nice slide work by Yates. Boogie track, Trouble With Love is a grate addition featuring Anson Funderburgh on guitar, Krase on harmonica and strong low vocal backing by Wilson. Super. Funky, R&B style blues, Live With Yourself plays really well in Lynn's vocal wheelhouse and she drains every drop of soul out of this track. With horn backing by Darrell Le...