#470 : The Boxmasters - Light Rays

2020 – KeenTone Records

By Phillip Smith; Nov. 7, 2020

It’s always a delight to hear new music from The Boxmasters.  With Light Rays, the tenth release from J.D. Andrew and Bud Thornton, the band delivers a dozen fabulous brand-new songs.  Each of them, written and performed with a deep appreciation for the early years of rock and roll. 

Beginning as a song from Bud to his daughter, “Breath Easy” is a lovely and poppy, feel-good anthem dedicated to parenthood.  It is a great song to open with and segues quite nicely into “Satellite Guy”, which I absolutely adore.  “Satellite Guy” has a sort of REM meets Big Star vibe, filled with infectious guitar riffs.  The captivating beat sounds great with a fabulous dose of organ on the side.  Doused with the delectable twang of Andrew’s guitar, “Thirteen Days” becomes this heart-racing ballad about a looming deadline for love.  It’s such a terrific song.

There’s a definite air of ominousity about title-track “Light Rays”.  Innocently beginning with this stellar line, “Please keep the Beatles album that I gave you.  Just like me some night it might save you.”, this wonderfully dark crooner song, soon takes a delusional stalkery-like direction.  It’s one of my favorites.  “Drag” catches my attention quickly too, with its Blondie-esque intro.  It perfectly captures the inner feelings that surface when I’m around strangers in a formal setting.  I’m happy to meet them, but I’m also so very happy to leave.  Resurrecting the long-lost art of misfortunate love songs, Andrew and Bud bring us “Downey Girl”.  This tragic tale of a love lost in a helicopter crash, where lawnmower blades and ceiling fans spark haunted memories, is based on an actual event which happened in 1968.

Reminiscent of the variety of rock songs one would hear on AM radio in the Sixties, this record is a testament of the Boxmasters love for early rock.  Light Rays is such a splendid album, it truly shines. 

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 For more information about the artist, visit this website : theboxmasters.com

 

 

Take a listen to the album on Apple Music, and if you decide to purchase it, use my special link.  This helps keep the PhillyCheeze site going.

#357 : The Boxmasters - In Stereo!

2018 –The Boxmasters

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 13, 2018

Billy Bob Thornton (aka Bud) , Teddy Andreadis and J.D. Andrew are back with In Stereo!.  This latest release from the Boxmasters captures the sounds and vibe of the early Sixties when the Beatles and Beach Boys were battling for king of the hill.  Loaded to the gills with nineteen songs similar in stylings to their previous album, it was originally referred to as Tea Surfing Too by the band before officially being titled. 

I quickly locked into “Clear Enough” a quirky poetic anthem with a garage punk attitude about respecting one another’s differences and personal space.  It’s catchy as hell, and I love the full-body sound.  Starting with a swoon-worthy melody and topped with the wonderful echo-laced sounds of surf guitar, “Rise Above Me” is a beautifully performed piece.  I also fall hard for the astral, Pink Floyd tendencies and Sgt. Pepper influences    laced in “Psychedelic”.  It’s brilliant to say the least.  The swirly organ accompaniment behind the thick twang of guitar gives the Beach Boys-infused “Best Girl” a taste of pop psychedelia.  A racing intro carries “Never Want to Leave California” into a dreamy place to land, as Thornton reflects upon The Golden State amid contemplating the termination of a failing relationship.  Recorded as a live performance in Florence, Alabama, “Emily” brings In Stereo! to conclusion in a Romantics-style ode to greasy-spoon crushes.

The Boxmasters’ ability to not be pigeonholed into any particular flavor of rock and roll as they dance around them all is uncanny and wonderful.  In Stereo! is indeed a delightful listen.      

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#341 : Michael Buffalo Smith - Makin’ it Back to Macon

2018 – Dreaming Buffalo Music

By Phillip Smith; July 13, 2018

Makin’ it Back to Macon follows closely on the heels of his recent EP The Austin Sessions, released earlier this Spring.  The “Ambassador of Southern Rock” and founder of Kudzoo Magazine Michael Buffalo Smith reveals he has even more up his sleeve with this first full length album since 2005.  Buffalo holds down the vocals and acoustic guitar with the rest of the band being composed of Greg Yeary (rhythm/lead guitar) Billy Eli (acoustic guitar), Joey Parrish (bass), and Towson Engsburg (drums/percussion).  Paul Hornsby (Charlie Daniels, Marshall Tucker Band) produced the album, which also features Tommy Talton (Cowboy) on guitar, E.G. Kight on backing vocals, and the one and only Billy Bob Thornton narrating the prologue and epilogue.

For the introduction, Buffalo wrote a soulful dedication to the town of Macon, Georgia, making note to mention the music, the food, and the people.  Read by Thornton, this spoken piece is a wonderful tribute to set the table for the music which follows. 

Buffalo brings a sense of optimism to his song of mortality in “Both Feet on the Ground” which features guitarist Daniel Jackson and bassist Joey Parrish, both from the Silver Travis Band.  Topped off with some very cool slide-work from Tommy Talton and featuring Paul Hornsby on the Wurlitzer piano, “My Baby Drives a Mercedes Benz” was  co-written with Smith’s longtime collaborator Greg Yeary.  Smith explains it was part of the set list when he and Yeary performed as Buffalo Hut Coalition in the Eighties.  Talton also appears on the fantastic and melancholy “Tired of Living Blues”.  Adding pops and scratches to be infused into the recording, Smith bestows a vintage sound to this bona fide blues tune.  Smith invokes a style reminiscent of the great John Prine into his music. A perfect example is “On a Still Cold Saturday” inspired by a trippy recurring dream.  Ripples of melancholy washes over when I hear Smith bare his soul on “Woman in the Moon (It Comes in Waves)”, a very personal song he wrote after the passing of the love of his life.    

The record concludes with a beautifully written self-reflective spoken word piece, “Epilogue: Reflections at 60”.  With a gripping delivery, this mini-bio written by Smith is read aloud by Billy Bob Thornton.  It honestly ties everything together.       

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Click the following link to read the PhillyCheeze Review of Michael Buffalo Smith's EP, The Austin Sessions : 
https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2018/05/332-michael-buffalo-smith-austin.html

#332 : Michael Buffalo Smith - The Austin Sessions

2018– Michael Buffalo Smith

By Phillip Smith; May 07, 2018

Between juggling his gigs as southern rock historian, author, creator/publisher of Kudzoo online magazine, blogger, podcaster, singer/songwriter/guitarist Michael Buffalo Smith has just released his sixth record since 1992.  The Austin Sessions, a four track EP recorded in 2016 at Green Garage Studio, is co-produced by Billy Eli and Jim Hemphill. With Smith on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, the remaining members of the band is composed of Jim Hemphill on lead guitar, Joseph Parrish on bass guitar, Michael McGeary (Jerry Jeff Walker) on drums, and Eli on backing vocals and acoustic guitar.

Smith opens up with a relaxed country ditty called “Paintin’ Her Toenails”.  This song according to Smith, was inspired while observing his wife sipping wine and painting her toenails on the front porch illuminated by the light of a harvest moon.  I can’t help but be reminded of the Boxmasters when I hear “Fatboy”, Smith’s southern rock homage to motorcycles and women.  Chockful of quick-witted double entendres, the song puts a grin on my face from ear to ear.  The pièce de résistance however is “Karl Childers Blues” a brilliant ode to Billy Bob Thornton’s Academy Award winning film, Slingblade.  Doyle Hargraves very much had it coming, indeed.  

There's a full album from Buffalo coming around the bend, this summer called Makin' it Back to Macon, which is being produced by Paul Hornsby (Charlie Daniels Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie).  So the four tracks on this EP will have to tide Buffalo's fans over until that is released.     

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For all things Michael Buffalo Smith, visit him online at http://www.michaelbuffalo.net.

Michael Buffalo Smith is also very much involved in spear-heading a campaign to establish the Southern Rock Hall of Fame and Museum.   For more information, visit the website, http://southernrockhall.org/

The Boxmasters live at The Surf Ballroom 4/24/15

Clear Lake, Iowa

By Phillip Smith; April 25, 2015

There’s just not that many places left that capture the history and sanctity of Rock and Roll as much as the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.  That’s why watching the Boxmasters, play live in this chapel of rock, made for an absolutely perfect night for soaking up the wonderful music and the fantastic stories that go with them, as sung and told by front man Billy Bob “Bud” Thornton.  The Boxmasters are: Thornton, co-founder/guitarist J.D. Andrew, guitarist Brad Davis, and keyboardist extraordinaire Teddy 'Zig Zag' Andreadis.

The band, all sporting Liverpool Beatles suits, took the stage, kicking the evening off with a rocking performance of “Emily” off Thornton’s 2003 Solo album, The Edge of the World.  I love that classic western sound Davis squeezes out of his guitar on “Providence”.  Davis grabs my full attention again in “Beautiful”.  He’s such a fantastic guitarist.

Thornton, in a really down-to-earth and heartfelt moment, discussed how much of an honor it was to be playing at the Surf.  His honesty and sincerity was felt by everyone.  The band then tore through nine consecutive songs off their latest release, Somewhere Down the Road.  It was so cool to hear the new tracks “Sometimes There’s a Reason”, “This Game is Over”, and “Kathy Don’t Share”.  Immediately following a brief spoken-word introduction from Thornton explaining how religion is a good thing, unless it gets in the hands of the wrong people, Andreadis starts “Piece of the Sky” on his Hammond in a performance fit for Sunday morning church.

After asking the audience about their thoughts on political correctness and profanity, Thornton indeed got their blessing to play an explicit song or two.  It was so fun to hear the rarely played tongue-in-cheek song, “I’ll Give You a Ring” (when you give me back my balls), from their self-titled album.

A request from the audience for a song from the late great Warren Zevon prompted Thornton to reminisce about his good friend.  He explained they had met each other at the mail box, while living in the same apartment building.  They ironically got to talking about a common trait they both suffer from, obsessive compulsive disorder.  The Boxmasters then broke into a Zevon-esque written song, “I Shot Him Down”.  “Island Avenue”, a song off the album, The Edge of the World, and written by Thornton’s brother Jimmy was a jam-filled treat.  After an intense and funky keyboard solo from Andreadis on the Hammond, the band played tight as hell.  This was rock and roll at its finest.  “Hope and Glory”, the last song of the set was dedicated to everyone who was in the military or had lost someone in war.  From Thornton’s vocals to Davis’s killer guitar, the band in general just gels so nicely.               

For an encore, the Boxmasters returned to stage in a slightly different configuration, featuring Andreadis this time, on harmonica, and Thornton sporting a tambourine. With a beat similar to the Ramone’s “Blitzkrieg Bop”, they kick in “Love is Real Tonight”, followed by a rendition of “That Mountain” which was so good, it sent chills up my spine. In a cutting heads fashion Andreadis and Davis went toe to toe, harp vs. guitar. It was such an amazing performance to end this stellar show with.   

For almost two solid hours, I hung on every note played and every word sung. This show will certainly go down in my history book as one of my favorite concerts.

Setlist

Emily

Japanese Girl

She Looks Like Betty Page

Middle of the Night

Providence

Beautiful

Sometimes There’s a Reason

You’ll Be Lonely Tonight

This Game is Over

Dead Inside

A Piece of the Sky

Kathy Won’t Share

What Did You Do Today

Away Away

Desperation Parade

I’ll Give You a Ring

I Shot Him down

Island Ave.

Hope for Glory

Encore

Love is Real Tonight

That Mountain

The Boxmasters - Somewhere Down the Road

2015 – 101 Ranch Records

By Phillip Smith; April 18, 2015

The fourth studio album, Somewhere Down the Road from the Boxmasters (Bud Thornton, J.D. Andrew, Teddy Andreadis, & Brad Davis), presents twenty-two brand new songs marinated in the styles of early rock and classic western music.  Brandishing a musicianship second to none, and songs written with blunt honesty and conviction, Somewhere Down the Road is a stand-out album.

Breakup song, “This Game is Over Now”, puts a big ol’ smile on my face as the Roy Orbison influences shine through the vocals and instrumentation. Another track that puts a grin on my face is “Kathy Won’t Share”, a catchy song with an REM vibe, about a self-indulgent stay-at-home husband with a desire to bring another woman into the bedroom.

Like the fatherly advice one would expect to get from someone who’s received the short end of the stick for the biggest part of their life, “Always Lie” hits heavily.  Thornton’s deep vocals are perfectly suited for this dark melody.  The darkness seem to linger a little longer on “Away Away”, as it is projected onto anonymous travelers making their way to an unknown destination with hollow eyes and what seems to be their whole life strapped down to the bed of an old beat up pickup truck.  Perfectly suited to land on a Quentin Tarantino motion picture soundtrack, “Don’t Follow Me Down”, a love song with elements of mystery and danger, delivers deliciously haunting and twangy surf guitar. The “cool factor” rides high on this one.  The heartfelt “Getting Past the Lullaby”, is a beautiful ode to mothers that will make one almost tear up.

Like the songs of John Hiatt or John Prine, the selections on Somewhere Down the Road tell stories bound to resonate with the listener.  Delivering their tunes with gusto and grit, The Boxmasters aren’t afraid to dig deep, and go down the road less traveled in order to makes sure the listener gets something worth listening to.  That’s what makes this album such a treasure. 

For more info on The Boxmasters visit their website theboxmasters.com/

http://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/

Levon Helm - Ramble at the Ryman : From the Archives #13

2011 -  Vanguard Record

By Phillip Smith; July 9, 2011

He’s over seventy years old now, and still nothing quite gets in the way of Levon Helm‘s tenacious desire to make music.  Arguably one of the two most notable people to ever call such a little place like Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, home.  The other being the legendary Robert Lockwood, Jr.  Ramble at the Ryman, the newest release from Helm, is a live album.   Capturing the essence of the old time medicine shows, he shares the stage with big name talent like Sheryl Crow, John Hiatt, Buddy Miller, and Billy Bob Thornton to name a few.  With Helm handling vocals, drums, and the mandolin, Larry Campbell on guitar, and (Little) Sammy Davis on harmonica, it’s quite an impressive arcade of musicians.  

Six of the fifteen tracks are oldies but goodies written by one of Helm’s original band mates from The Band, Robbie Robertson.  Kicking off the show, is a lively version of “Ophelia“.  It’s such a great song, and sets the mood for a swingin’ good time.  Wrapping up the album, we get to hear a fabulous rendition of “The Weight“, recorded with special guest vocalist, John Hiatt.   And in between, fabulous performances of  “Evangeline“, recorded with Sheryl Crow, “Rag Mama Rag“, and “The Shape I’m In“.

Harmonica aficionados should really enjoy the back to back tracks, “Fannie Mae” and “Baby Scratch My Back”. Davis owns the stage with his riveting harp playing.  It’s just great to listen to.  Other great listens include the chilling ballad, “A Train Robbery”.  Helm sings his heart out on this one.  Rounding out the rest of the album, is a very nice cover of Chuck Berry’s “Back to Memphis”.  

This event is also available on DVD, which I plan to picking up sometime soon, because I love the CD so much.  

Rating =  5/5

http://www.levonhelm.com/


* Authors note:  Originally appeared on BluesRevue.Com's BluesWax online magazine.  Posting again, in honor of what would have been Levon's 74th birthday.   

* Levon Helm. May 26, 1940 ~ April 19, 2012