#431 : Sister Lucille - Alive

2019 – Endless Blues Records
By Phillip Smith; Feb. 8, 2020

Hot and seductive vocals from Kim Dill coupled with gobs of dynamic guitar from her husband Jamie Holdren fuel Alive, the debut album from Springfield, Missouri’s Sister Lucille.  They sound great together as their voices blend in southern-style harmony.   The other half of the band is comprised of a fantastic rhythm section featuring drummer Kevin Lyons, and bassist Eric Guinn.  Alive, produced by Holdren, and mixed by Grammy Award winner Jim Scott who produced Tedeschi Trucks’ Revelator album, makes for one hell of a bluesy listen.   

Holdren pours out a cool funky groove on “Won’t Give It” as the soulful keys from Chris Stephenson on a Hammond B, join with attacks of brass from saxophonist Peter Climie, trumpeter Jared Dover , and trombonist Andrew Earle.  It sounds great.  I love the swampy, delta blues style slide Holdren dishes out on “See My Baby”.  For a nice big helping of blues at its authentic best, “Respect Your Woman” features Eric Hughes, a Memphis blues artist who I hold high regard for, making a guest appearance on harmonica.  It’s always a delight to hear him play.  

I adore the Stax vibe hanging out in “Wanna Love You”.   Dill sings this infectious tune with sexy persuasion as Holdren absolutely rips it up on guitar.  The Stax vibe keeps trucking on as they cover “99 Pounds”, a song written by Don Bryant, and originally recorded by his wife Ann Peebles.  This one is a big-time favorite indeed and it’s songs like this which I fall head over heels for.  Etta James’ “W.O.M.A.N”, the other cover song on this record is a splendid showcase for Dill as she pours everything into her performance of this wonderful classic. 

Sister Lucille serves up a marvelous mix of blues, rock, and soul with Alive.  I certainly hope we hear more from them in the near future. 

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

#331 : The Eric Hughes Band - Meet Me in Memphis

2017 – Eric Hughes Music

By Phillip Smith; April 28, 2018

If you’ve listened to live music on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee within the past seventeen years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard Eric Hughes on stage performing his unique and captivating blend of blues.  He took up residency on the historic Official Home of the Blues in 2001, and plays there on a regular basis still today.  Meet Me in Memphis, marks his fifth album to date, and is an homage to the city in which he was born and raised.  The Eric Hughes Band consists of Eric Hughes on vocals, guitars, harmonica, and percussion, Walter Hughes on guitars, mandolin, lap-steel, Leo Goff on bass guitar, Brian Aylor on drums, Chris Stephenson on keyboards, Art Edmaiston on saxophone, Marc Franklin on trumpet, along with Susan Marshall and Reba Russell on backing vocals.

The nine track album rolls out the gate, ready for business, with “Freight Train of Pain”.  This southern rocker comes loaded with scads of blues-soaked harp and ripping guitar riffs.  Hearing title track “Meet Me in Memphis” ushers me right to the heart of the Bluff City with a longing for some fine music, tasty barbeque, and a tall glass of sweet tea.  With a robust horn accompaniment, chords, and Steve Cropper-like guitar licks, I love how the song gently taps into the soulful sounds of Stax Records.

Hughes has a gift for incorporating the lost art of story-telling into his songs. A captivating tale of outlaw nature is spun in his western ballad “The Day They Hanged the Kid”.  Franklin, on trumpet, suavely tops the song with a little Spanish seasoning.  With poetic truth, and a shovelful of satire, the troubles of the hipster nation finally get the spotlight in Hughes’ humorously penned “Midtown Blues”.  Once pulled in by Aylor’s caffeinated beat and Goff’s funky bassline on “Here Comes the Boogie Man”, there’s no escape from   Eric’s magnificent harmonica performance and Walter’s wonderfully ominous guitar licks.  

In joyous celebration of one of America’s favorite pastimes, the album closes with “Believe I’m Going Fishing”.  I simply adore this song.  It’s catchy as hell.  In fact, the whole record is that catchy.  Meet Me in Memphis is a terrific album, and a splendid delight.        

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#323 : Mick Kolassa - Double Standards

2017 – Swing Suit Records

By Phillip Smith; March 10, 2018

One can feel the heart and soul poured into the latest release from “Michissippi” Mick Kolassa.  Double Standards, a wonderful thirteen track album, celebrates some of the greatest blues songs to have been recorded.  Backing Kolassa in the studio is guitarist Jeff Jensen, bassist Bill Ruffino, drummer James Cunningham, and organist Chris Stephenson.   For this venture, Kolassa also enlists the participation of several notable musicians, who today are busy carving their own unique path to present the Blues.  These artists are Tullie Brae, Erica Brown, Annika Chambers, Heather Crosse, Tas Cru, Gracie Curran, David Dunavent, Alice Hasan, Eric Hughes, Colin John, Jeremy Powell, Patti Parks, Sugaray Rayford, and Victor Wainwright.

A big gracious nod goes out to the legendary bluesman Willie Dixon.  Performing as a duet with Kolassa, Erica Brown holds back nothing as she pours her soulful vocals into the classic “Spoonful”.  I love Jenson’s guitar performance and Stephenson’s organ arrangement on this track.  The lovely Heather Crosse joins in on “I Just Want to Make Love To You”.  Memphis’ Eric Hughes lays a heaping helping of luscious harmonica on this track.  It sounds great.  The dynamic duo of Kolassa and Sugaray Rayford double the ante on “300 Pounds of Heavenly Joy”, originally recorded by Howlin Wolf, to bring a grand total of “600 Pounds of Heavenly Joy” to the table.  Fortified with the guitar prowess of both Colin John, and Mike Kolassa, this track is a big bowlful of fun.

Victor Wainwright splendidly takes the vocal reins on Tampa Red’s 1928 hokum “It’s Tight Like That”, with Hughes icing the song with harmonica and Alice Hasan accompanying on violin.  Tas Cru lends his definitive voice to the Jimmy Cox penned standard, “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”.  This timeless classic is beautifully accompanied by Hason on violin and Jeremy Powell on piano.  Eric Hughes gives a smooth performance Big Bill Broonzy’s “Key to the Highway”.  It’s very nice indeed. 

Double Standards comes to a joyful conclusion in a full-fledged jamboree.  Each singer takes a turn on “Ain’t Nobody’s Business”, spinning their own off-the-cuff lyrics.  It’s a great track to close the album with, as the energy of the whole collective is funneled into this closing song. 

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All Proceeds from Mick Kolassa’s albums will go to support two of these important programs: The HART Fund and Generation Blues.

THE HART FUND (Handy Artists Relief Trust) is for Blues musicians and their families in financial need due to a broad range of health concerns. The Fund provides for acute, chronic and preventive medical and dental care as well as funeral and burial expenses. 

GENERATION BLUES provides scholarship to artists under the age of 21 to study at reputable camps, seminars and workshop programs such as Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival, Augusta Heritage Center and Fernando Jones’ Columbia College Blues Camp.

Also reviewed on Phillycheeze’s Rock & Blues Reviews

Victor Wainwright and the WildRoots – Boom Town

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2015/07/victor-wainwright-and-wildroots-boom.html

Tas Cru - Simmered & Stewed

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2017/01/tas-cru-simmered-stewed.html

Heather Crosse - Groovin’ at the Crosse Roads

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2016/01/heather-crosse-groovin-at-crosse-roads.html