PhillyCheeze's Rock & Blues Reviews: Eric Douglas

Showing posts with label Eric Douglas. Show all posts

Saturday, September 28, 2024

#707 > BillyLee Janey Band - King of the Roll (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2024 – Fervor Records

By Phillip Smith; Sep. 28, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

King of the Roll, the latest album from BillyLee Janey Band is seventeen tracks of all-original hard-driving blues-rock, and I absolutely dig it. I’ve been a fan of BillyLee’s work for quite a long time, and he never ceases to amaze me. With Janey on all guitars and vocals, he is joined with Tommy T-Bone Giblin (Lonnie Brooks) on B3 and clavinet, Dan ‘DJ’ Johnson on bass, Bryce Janey on bass guitar, Eric Douglas on drums, and Troy Harper guest drummer on “Lucky Star”.

Setting a strong impression, the album leads off with title-track “King of the Roll” a song loaded with a funky rhythm and searing guitar licks. Douglas’ commanding approach on drums fuels this smoking track. The rolling sound of Giblin’s B3 sets a groovy background for Janey as he lays down the law on “Killin’ Flow”. In a fabulously smoldering performance, Janey and band conjure memories of the ferocious derecho which tore through Iowa in August of 2020 in “Iowa Hurricane”. That was a day I will never forget, and the song captures the event in a most honest way. I love the propulsive “Hellbound Nite Ryder”. The song guides the listener down a mesmerizing journey of Janey’s guitar mastery. “Rain Fallin’” is an amazing track with a jazz-soaked rhythm which brilliantly takes me back to 2008 when a hundred-year flood wreaked havoc across Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hearing Janey cut loose on the nearly seven-minute long instrumental “Star Spangled Blues/Mountain Fire” is a genuine treat.

BillyLee Janey Band truly shines with King of the Roll. I highly recommend giving this album a listen.

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For more information about BillyLee Janey, visit https://fervor-records.com/artist/billylee-janey/

Check out previous PhillyCheeze reviews and photos of BillyLee Janey with this link:

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Billylee+Janey

Saturday, May 18, 2024

#685 : Kevin Burt & Big Medicine - Thank You Brother Bill : A Tribute To Bill Withers (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2023 – Gulf Coast Records

By Phillip Smith; May 18, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

I’ve been listening to Kevin Burt perform his magic behind the microphone for almost thirty-two years now. He is one of the most gifted singers I know. His well of talent runs quite deep and that talent brought him awards in three categories at the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. He walked away that year with First Place Solo/Duo , First Place Solo/Duo Guitarist, and the Lee Oskar Award for Best Harmonica Player.

His fourth album Thank You Brother Bill (A Tribute to Bill Withers) breathes new life into a dozen Bill Withers songs. It couples Burt with a stellar backing ensemble called Big Medicine comprised of Scot Southerland on bass, Ken Valdez on lead/rhythm guitar/backing vocals, and Eric Douglas on drums.

From the opening notes of “Who is He (and What is He To You)?” I’m all-in. I love how Burt's voice suavely fills the air radiating off the funky groove constructed from Big Medicine. The funk gets stronger on “Kissing My Love”. Topped with a smokin’ splash of harp, this track absolutely cooks as Valdez tosses in his searing guitar licks. The tempo drops and the bluesy soulful goodness of “World Keeps Going Round and Round” hits with an amazing heaviness as the tension tightens like a tourniquet. Then “Just the Two of Us” rolls in like a ray of sunshine with Burt opening up the song on harmonica. I can’t help but feel good when I hear this song. It’s such a delight. I absolutely love his cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine”. The emotion Burt packs into his delivery on this track cuts to the bone. It’s additionally fortified by Douglas slapping out a ferocious beat on congas. “Lean on Me” brings back a flood of memories of hanging out with one of my best friends growing up. The song is a gift of time-travel, as I recall those care-free days. Bringing the album to its close, is the title-track “Thank You Brother Bill”, written by Burt to show his gratitude and “Big Love” for music of Bill Withers. It really makes for the perfect closer for this album.

Thank You Brother Bill is one of the most perfect tribute albums I’ve heard by a single artist. Kevin Burt does an outstanding job of taking on these treasured songs and I highly recommend this recording.

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For more information about Kevin Burt, visit his website at https://www.kevinburtmusic.net

Follow the link below for more PhillyCheeze reviews featuring Kevin Burt:

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=kevin+burt

Saturday, August 1, 2020

#456 : BillyLee Janey - 20 Dollar Tip

2020 – BillyLee Janey

By Phillip Smith; Aug. 1, 2020

It’s always exciting to hear new material from Iowa Blues Hall of Fame member BillyLee Janey (Truth and Janey). Janey’s bravado is a force to be reckoned with and his brand of electric blues is hard to beat. For his latest album, 20 Dollar Tip, Janey returns to the studio with Dan ‘DJ’ Johnson on bass, Eric Douglas on drums, and Tom ‘T-Bone’ Giblin (Lonnie Brooks, The Dynatones, Mighty Joe Young) on Hammond B3 to produce an engaging, well-crafted record. His son Bryce Janey mixed and mastered the record, and also appears on backing vocals.

Title-track “20 Dollar Tip” takes off in a dazzling fury with a wonderful display of searing guitar licks. Flexing its muscles with a hard-driving rhythm and serious B3 back-up, it’s a great song to kick things off with. Janey infuses a tasty bit of funk in his infectious tribute to delta blues in “Way Down in a Mississippi Town”. This is definitely one of my favorites. If there were a category for Best Soul Blues Song of the Year, “Love’s Gonna Stop That Train” would definitely be a contender. The song is absolutely fabulous. In “Stepping Out with the Blues”, Janey’s performance drips with Chicago-style authenticity, and sounds like perfection. This nine-track album comes to a rollicking close with “Shake My Soul”, making for one hell of a blues jam.

20 Dollar Tip is a splendid listen from start to finish, and highly recommended.

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Saturday, October 5, 2019

#411 : BillyLee Janey - Blues Power

2019 – Billy Rock Music / Stray Dog Records

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 5, 2019

Since moving up here to Iowa in 1992, I’ve been listening to BillyLee Janey. Inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 for Truth & Janey and inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame in 2012, he is surely a force to be reckoned with when it comes to musicianship and playing the blues. Blues Power, his latest release is a sheer delight. Featuring eleven originals and two cover songs, this album is filled to the brim with hard-driving electric blues that cuts deep to the core. BillyLee leads this trio on guitar and vocals. His son Bryce Janey who also recorded, mastered and mixed the album, appears on bass guitar, with Eric Douglas is on drums.

From the first song, “Who Let the Dog Out”, Janey is already in top-gear, delivering hot-as-hell licks and playing the blues like I love to hear it. He continues to amaze me in “Blues Alright”. “Gimme Some Blues Power” is a monster of a song too. Douglas lays down a stellar beat while Janey carpet bombs the listener with a tantalizing guitar performance. His cover of Buddy Guy’s “Mary Had a Little Lamb” puts a big smile on my face too. Janey makes this one his own.

While revisiting “Mean Ol’ Twister”, a track released on his album Got Them Iowa Blues, Janey adds an additional minute, forty-five seconds to the furious whirlwind simulation he creates with sound. It was a spectacular song to begin with, but this new mix gives it the tornado-infused ending the song deserves. Hearing Janey cut loose the way he does here, is an experience in and of itself.

An absolute must-hear for blues fans, and guitar aficionados, Blues Power delivers high-voltage blues at its best.

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

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Czech Village Blues Festival - Aug 12, 2017

Czech Village

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

All photos by Phillip Smith; Aug 13, 2017

I am more than thrilled to see the return of an annual blues festival here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It has been a long journey to get one going again since the final Bluesmore in 2013. This year the Linn County Blues Society joined forces with the Friends of the Czech Village to bring the blues back to our city. The result was a phenomenal evening of music performed by The LCBS Allstars featuring eight Iowa Blues Hall of Fame inductees, along with headlining act, Joanna Connor.