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💿 ALBUM REVIEW: John Primer and Friends - Tribute To Theresa's Lounge

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John fell in love with the blues as a child when his father and an older cousin played guitar and sang at night after a hard day in the fields. His mother moved to Chicago to secure a job and support her family. She promised to bring John and his sister to the big city when they reached age 18, leaving them with family. Depressed and lonely, young Primer frequently went into the neighboring woods, where he cried his troubles away and began singing the blues in solitude. He eventually built himself a diddley bow on the side of his grandmother's house out of broom wire, two nails and a brick and began accompanying himself as he sang, eventually playing for dimes and quarters in his schoolyard. After listening to Jimmy Reed , Little Milton, B.B. King , Albert King and Muddy Waters on his grandmother's record player, his biggest dream was to play alongside Muddy Waters one day. 🎵 LISTEN & SUPPORT THE ALBUM ▶ Listen to Album Samples (Clic...

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Michael Schatte - Conundrum - New Release Review

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 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Conundrum , from Michael Schatte and it's an interesting contemporary rock release. Opening with high energy, Water In The Kettle , singer, guitar player, Michael Schatte cranks out a radio track on par with Glenn Frey. Also playing violin and percussion and backed by Ryan Spratt on bass, Riley O'Connor on drums, Sacha Visagie on vocal and Carson Freeman on sax, this track hits the note. Pop track, Genevieve , had straight up rock lines and a solid melody. Shuffle track, Please Don't Dance With My Brother , has definite blues roots with a tight rhythm by O'Connor and cool sax by Freeman. Come On Down is a solid boogie track with great drive. With Schatte on vocal, guitars, organ and bass, adding only Chad Davis on drums, this is my favorite track on the release. Bluesy ballad, In The Cold Hard Here And Now is a real cool track with a strong melody and folky twist. Schatte's mandolin work on this track...

Cathy Grier + The Troublemakers - I'm All Burn - New Release Review

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 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, I'm All Burn , from Cathy Grier + The Troublemakers and it's a cool blend of R&B and blues. Opening with title track, I'm All Burn, Cathy Grier is upfront on vocal and guitar, backed by Deirdre Fellner on backing vocal, Jim Ohlschmidt on guitar, Larry Byrne on organ, Greg Roteik on bass, matt Liben on drums, Pauli Ryan on percussion, and with great horn work by Andrew Spadafora on sax, Joe Neimann on trumpet and Mike Lizzo on trombone. Down on My Knees is a cool pop R&R track with clean vocals, great bari sax work and a tight dance rhythm. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Backyard Blues with strong, soul vocals by Grier, solid slide by Greg Koch and Steve Cohen on harmonica.  Bluesy ballad, Easy Come Easy Go is a terrific showcase for Grier's voice and warm organ work by Byrne cements the deal. Very nice. Bobbi Gentry's Ode To Billy Joe gets a slightly funkier rework and with the ...

Danny Brooks & Lil Miss Debi - Are You Ready? - The Mississippi Sessions - New Release Review

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 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Are You Ready? - The Mississippi Sessions from Danny Brooks & Lil Miss Debi . Opening with straight up rocker and title track, Are You Ready? Danny Brooks leads the way on vocal and guitar with Debi on vocal, Chalmers Davis on B3, Joel may on drums, Micah May on bass on Geri O'Neal on bass. Jesus Had the Blues has a cool strut with soulful lead guitar and vocal by Brooks, and with James Lawlis on sax, Paul Mitchell on trumpet, and Peter Hysen on tuba. Very nice. With revival gospel styling, Let Me Know is full of energy with Danny and Debi trading vocal and vibrant drum work by May. Debi gets her lead vocal showcase on John Prine's Angel From Montgomery . A cool duet with Brooks on vocal, guitar and harmonica, this is the choice radio track for the release.  My favorite track on the release is One More Mile (To Mississippi) , a stripped down hill country style hollar with cajon and harmonica under lead vo...

Cleopatra Blues: Junior Wells - Blues Brothers - New Release Review

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 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues Brothers by Junior Wells and featuring many contemporary blues players. Opening with low slung, Blues Hit Big Town , Colin James weighs in on lead guitar with Wells on Harp. Good Morning Little School Girl lines up Pat Travers on guitar and James Montgomery on harp. I really like Montgomery's work and his interweaving with Travers on this track is tight. One of Well's most loved classics, Messin' With the Kid gets a rework with Tyler Bryant on guitar and his open tone with just the right amount of reverb works really nicely. Baby, Scratch My Back features Albert Castiglia and I always like his style. He doesn't overplay but his notes all count. Very nice. Eric Gales is featured on Lovey Dovey, Lovey One and his confident attack on this shuffle really works nicely. One of my favorite tracks on the release is Snatch It Back And Hold It, featuring Joe Louis Walker. His guitar work is fluid and fleet...

Provogue artist: Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - Straight To You Live - New Release Review

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 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Straight To You Live , from Kenny Wayne Shepherd and it's a solid rocker. This is a double pack with a cd recording as well as a dvd video of the concert. Opening with Woman Like You , KWS of course leads the pack on vocal and guitar, backed by Noah Hunt on vocal and guitar, Chris "Whipper" Layton on drums, Joe Krown on keys, Scott Nelson on bass, Mark Pender on trumpet and Joe Sublett on sax. Shepherd sets a solid pace and with his trademark vocals and fluid lead runs sets up a good opener. Elmore James' Talk To Me Baby has a real nice shuffle pace with Pender and Sublett on horns and Shepherd on guitar and slide and some of his best vocals on the release. Real nice sax work by Sublett and a hot trumpet solo by Pender gives this track a real turbo boost. Bluesy ballad, Heat of the Sun is one of my favorites on the release with soulful vocals by Shepherd and explosive, melodic guitar work by Shepherd. Ve...

GSGS Music artist: Greg Sover Band - The Parade - New Release Review

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 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Parade , from Greg Sover Band and it's a strong rocker with roots in the blues. Opening with Wake Up , a firm rocker with a stiff drum rhythm and grinding guitar riff, GSB lets you know right up front that this is no ordinary blues band. With Sover on lead guitar and vocal, Garry Lee on bass, Allen James on guitars, Wally Smith on keys and Tom Walling on drums, this is a solid opener. On Feelin' Sumthin' , Sover dons a resonation and lays in a cool slide riff pitted with Willing's punctuating snare strike over Lee's active bass line to create a modern, country blues rocker. It's nice to see Jack Bruce's Politician , come out on a new release. I have always love this track and Sover handles Bruce's vocal lead nicely and his own lead guitar is exciting with excellent drumming by Walling and a great bass groove by Lee. Very cool. Wrapping the release is Never Gonna Stop , a classic style ro...

Gulf Coast Records artist: Kevin Burt - Stone Crazy - New Release Review

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 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Stone Crazy , by Kevin Burt and it's a cool contemporary blues rocker with a pop edge. Opening with I Ain't Got No Problem With It, a free and easy rocker, Burt on lead vocal, guitar and harmonica is joined by Mike Zito on guitar, Doug Byrkit on bass, Matthew Johnson on drums, Lewis Stephens on keys and Jimmy Carpenter on sax. Purdy Lil Thing has a cool, swampy feel and Burt's deep, smooth vocals are excellent! Johnson's drum touch is terrific and guitar accents by Zito have just the right touch. R&B based, title track, Stone Crazy, has a laid back feel and Burt's vocals float nicely on a lush melody. You Get What You See is a smooth fusion between a blues shuffle and a Booker T jam. With it's driving guitar vamp and Carpenter's sax work, this is a cool track. With it's funky groove, Better Off Dead is one to be reckoned with. Burt lays in the pocket with the confidence of Bill With...