Alastair Greene - Dream Train

2017 –Rip Cat Records

Release Date : Oct 20, 2017

By Phillip Smith; Sep 23, 2017

Alastair Greene recently parted from his seven-year gig as Alan Parson’s touring guitarist and made the decision to follow his musical dream of pursing a full-time solo career. His most recent album, Dream Train, produced and mixed by David Z is a monumental one to say the least.  It contains a dozen originals and one fabulous cover.  With Greene on guitar and vocals, he is joined by Jim Rankin on bass, and Austin Beede on drums.

Beede’s thunder-filled pounding beats fuel title-track “Dream Train” as Greene kicks it into full-throttle fearlessly blasting his turbo-charged electric blues. “Nome Zayne”, a previously-unreleased Texas-style blues-rocker written by Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) and featuring the great Walter Trout is funky and infectious.  It’s definitely one of my favorites, as is “I’m the Taker”.  Greene keeps this one powerful, raw and a bit psychedelic. 

    

The instrumentals on this album are delightful.  So elegant is “Song For Rufus”.  Though clocking in at just less than two minutes in length, it carries heartfelt warmth. “Iowa” is a blessing to hear as well, and not just because it is where I call my current home.  The rich sounds from organist Mike Finnegan and the gentile waves of crashing cymbals provide a perfectly textured space for Greene’s guitar to explore.  This gorgeous song quickly brings to mind my first listen of Eric Johnson’s Tones album.  Debbie Davies appears with guitar in hand for a swinging instrumental blues jam on “Grateful Swagger” and it is downright terrific.  

There’s a heavy North Mississippi Delta vibe in “Rain Stomp”.  Greene plays this wonderful callback to classic blues slathered up with a heaping dose of exquisite swampy slide.  A collaboration with Mike Zito results in one badass song called “Down to Memphis”.  The riffs are hard and intense.  The slide guitar is fantastic.  

One listen to Dream Train, and it’s so very obvious Alastair Greene made the right decision to pursue his musical dream.  This is absolutely one stellar blues-rock album.

   

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Cyril Neville - Magic Honey

Ruf Records,  2013

By Phillip Smith; December 28, 2013

We all know moss doesn’t grow on a rolling stone, and at Sixty-Five years of age, one will not find one gram of moss on Cyril Neville.  Constantly recording and touring with either his own band, or as part of the super-group, Royal Southern Brotherhood with Devon Allman and Mike Zito, the man keeps on rolling.  That being said, one can plan on settling down for a nice groovy listen when one reaches for the new Cyril Neville album, Magic Honey, and taps the play button.  I love the way Neville adds his funky spin to the Blues to make his own fresh sound.  Band members consist of guitarist Cranston Clements, drummer “Mean” Willie Green, bassist Carl Dufrene, and keyboardist Norman Caesar.  Neville also enlists help from friends, Dr. John, Walter Trout, Mike Zito, Allen Toussaint, and David Z, Neville.  With all of that going on, this album can’t help being anything but fun.

I was drawn in by the catchy melody and Clements swampy licks on the bluesy title track, “Magic Honey”. But by the time I got to “Something’s Got a Hold on Me”, I was totally captivated.  With guest guitarist, David Z on board, this one emanates the sound and energy of Led Zeppelin. Crank up the volume on this one and enjoy.  

It’s cool to hear Dr. John sitting in on and applying his trademark sound to “Swamp Funk”, a song he wrote himself.  I find myself nodding my head and hitching a ride on this tasty groove every time I hear it, as it leans a little more to the side of team ‘funk’, as opposed to the side of team ‘swamp’.  It’s also neat to hear Mike Zito playing on “Money and Oil”, a track co-written by Zito and Neville. Neville addresses the reality of the politics of today, as he rightfully sings ‘when it all comes down, it’s all about money and oil’.         

 

The must-hear song on this album though, is “Working Man”.  If it sounds like the title of a Rush song, that’s because it is.  Instigating a proverbial double take at first, I realized this was an outstandingly cool cover after my neck snapped back to its rightful place.  This one is surely more bouncy and playful than the original, but that’s what makes it memorable.  I really like Neville’s smooth and vibrant vocals coupled with Clements killer guitar performance.

Really good from start to finish, one can’t go wrong picking this album up.    

The Official Video – Cyril Neville covers the RUSH classic – “Working Man”