11
Guys Quartet
11 x 11
2023 – Vizztone Label
Group
By Phillip Smith; Nov. 25, 2023
Release Date : Nov.
17, 2023
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
Forming in Boston around forty years ago as 11th Hour Blues Band, guitarist Paul Lenart, bassist Bill “Coach” Mather, drummer Chuck Purro, and harmonicist Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt played the local club and bar scene there before cutting their first album Hot Time in the City in 1985. Now known as 11 Guys Quartet, their latest album 11 x 11 has grabbed my attention in a huge way. This follow-up album to their critically acclaimed 2020 release Small Blues and Grooves, packs eleven original tracks into one disc for a fantastic blues listening experience.
The record kicks in with a truck load of Lenart’s swampified guitar topped with an explosion of Rosenblatt’s blues-soaked harmonica, making “Lightning Road” a riveting instrumental opener. The powerful juju of “Black Cat Bone” is generously received as it follows up next. This bodacious track is indeed a favorite. In a sort of ‘House of the Rising Sun’ fashion, 11 Guys Quartet masterfully construct an amazing anthem called “Blues Beyond Midnight”. Lenart and Rosy dig deep as their licks are wonderfully traded back and forth. Slathered with slide, “Possum Blues” steals my heart with its carefree and country-fried sound.
Each track on this album is an instrumental except for two songs: “Drivin’ a Fast Car” featuring Purro on vocals and “He Ain’t Got You” featuring Lenart on vocals. “Drivin’ a Fast Car” hits the scene with the velocity of a moonshine runner barreling down the road at breakneck speed. The band plays this tight and with an amazing finesse. “He Ain’t Got You” is a searing new twist on the classic Jimmy Reed song "I Ain't Got You". The intoxicating groove pulls me right in.
I enjoy every note played as 11 Guys Quartet showcase their abundant talent and collective experience. 11 x 11 surely sits among my favorite albums of the year.
For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://www.11guysquartet.com/
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