2017 – Malaco Records
By Phillip Smith;
Apr 22, 2017
Records like Knock A Hole In It from gospel-musician-turned-bluesman
Castro Coleman, aka Mr. Sipp , “The Mississippi Blues Child”,
are far and few in-between. Coleman, winner of the 2014 International
Blues Challenge and Gibson Guitarist Award in Memphis, Tennessee pours his soul into
his craft, both as a songwriter and performer. This album features a dozen original
tunes and one fabulously superb cover of Jimi
Hendrix’s “Little Wing” which runs nearly eight and half minutes long and segues
right into a sweet guitar instrumental of “Star-Spangled Banner” which brings
it to a close.
I absolutely dig the funky raw
groove woven into the title-track, “Knock A Hole In It”. The energy running through this song is stunning
and electric. This one surely goes down
as my favorite song of the year. Terrific
vocals and smoking hot guitar from Coleman
along with a searing performance from organist Carrol McLaughlin make “Bad Feeling” another stand-out song. Coleman
certainly does not mess around when it comes to dishing out serious blues. From the slow, smoldering “Strings Attached”
to the heel-stomping house-rockin’ “Juke Joint”, his artistry shines through.
I have a feeling Knock a Hole In It will be at the top of
my list for a quite a long time. It’s
definitely a good time.
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