MMM Records, 2013
By Phillip Smith;
February 1, 2014
Morning Gasoline is the latest release from The Michael Louis Band, a funky little blues
group from Brooklyn, NY. The band
consists of frontman/guitarist/vocalist Michael Louis, bassist/keyboard player Andre
Sebastian, drummer Keith Crupi, and special guest Chauncey Yearwood on congas. Morning
Gasoline captures the Rock and Roll spirit of the Seventies with great song
writing, and top-notch performances. Louis
skillfully blends Blues and Funk, with a bit of Southern Rock.
I really like the way the
title track, “Morning Gasoline”, gets the heart pumping. I’ve been using this as a ‘go-to’ song to
help wake me up on my morning drive to work.
This one is really great fuel to start the morning off with. The guitar is very enjoyable and I love the
driving beat provided by Crupi on drums and Yearwood on congas.
When I hear Louis’s voice on “City
Boy”, “Late September”, and “Vanilla Plain”, I immediately think of Elvis
Costello and John Hiatt, both singer/songwriters I hold in high regards. There
is slow infectious groove to “City Boy”, which pulls me in like a magnet. Plain and simply, “Late September” is just a
beautiful song. I like the tinny single guitar note accents which give it an
added layer of character to it.
Reminiscent of the funky
instrumentals on the Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In sequences revolving around a dancing,
bikini-clad, flower-powered Goldie Hawn, “Tazer” is one big bowl of fun. Interestingly,
it slowly morphs itself from fun and funky, into a warm bath of psychedelia. “Makin’ Time” another enjoyable treat, has
that bluesy southern rock sound akin to the music of the Allman Brothers, with
that slide guitar and piano. It really surprised
me how much Louis on guitar, and Sebastian on keys sounded like the Allmans. As
I listen to this song, it occurs to me, there’s no doubt Louis has the chops to
play pretty much anything he wants.
The cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”
shot chills up and down my spine. This
is song I’ve heard a million times, both the Stevie Wonder version, and the
Stevie Ray Vaughan version. This rendition
is similar to neither of those. It’s
almost as if the tune had been dragged down South and baptized in the
Mississippi river, giving it a brand new life with a thick coat of swampy
grit. There’s an uneasy daunting
heaviness to it, that’s for sure. That’s what makes this cut so cool and
interesting.
Morning Gasoline certainly took me by surprise. After
listening to this album, I can honestly say I am now a fan, and will be on the
lookout for more to come from The Michael Louis Band.
