#321 : Rockin’ Johnny Burgin - Neoprene Fedora

2017 – West Tone Records

By Phillip Smith; Feb. 24, 2018

Rockin’ Johnny Burgin has been putting out righteous blues music for at least twenty years, and his latest release Neoprene Fedora is no exception.  On this sixteen track record, Burgin further explores the blues, taps into some California surf guitar, and steps into the world of zydeco for a few songs.  Again, recording at the Greaseland Studios in San Jose, California, Burgin enlists a super group of notable musicians to join him: Kid Andersen (guitar/bass/piano), Aki Kumar (harp/percussion/vocals), Bob Welsh (guitar/piano), Alabama Mike (vocals), Vance Ehlers (bass), June Core (drums/percussion), Stephen Dougherty (drums), Nancy Wright (sax.), Steve Willis (accordion), Billy Wilson (rub board), and Chris Matheos (bass).

Title track, Neoprene Fedora is one smokin’ cool tune.  This is California surf at its best.  With Nancy Wright on sax, and Kid Andersen joining in on guitar, the song pretty much soars skyward with its over seven minute instrumental jam.  I love how Burgin’s cover of “Give Me an Hour in Your Garden” drips with authenticity.  Originally recorded by Papa John Creech on his 1972 album Filthy, Burgin wails this one with heart and soul as Anderson joins in on piano.  Alabama Mike steps in on vocals and Aki Kumar on harp, as Burgin breaks the funk out on “Smoke and Mirrors”. This juicy track is soaked in the raw grit of the mid-Seventies, and I dig every bit of it.  Burgin connects right in to the essence of the average blue-collar worker in “I Ain’t Gonna Be a Working Man No More”.  Featuring a driving rhythm from Ehlers and Dougherty and the guitar prowess of the great Bob Welsh, the song buries in deep.  With a Smokestack Lightnin riff, Burgin bids a personal adieu to the Windy City in “Goodbye Chicago” and sets his scope on the Sunkist State, where he now resides.  It’s a wonderful homage.      

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Nancy Wright - Playdate!

2016 –  Vizztone

By Phillip Smith; Sep. 25, 2016

In 2013, San Francisco musician, Nancy Wright pulled down the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame’s Blues Saxophonist of the Year award.  She’s been touring with Tommy Castro for the past couple of years, and has just wrapped up her latest album, Playdate!.  For this project, she has enlisted a slew of top tier blues talent – Tommy Castro, Victor Wainwright, Elvin Bishop, and Joe Louis Walker to name a few.  Her band consists of producer/guitarist Christopher “Kid” Anderson, with Chris Burns on keys, bassist Joe Kyle Jr., drummer J. Hansen, Tom Poole on trumpet, and Faris Jarrah on trombone, and percussionist Martin Windstad.

Guest vocalist Wee Willie Walker gives a standout performance and Wright gets down on sax, as the gang breaks out the sweet funk on the Willie Harper classic, “Why You Wanna Do It”.  I fall hook, line and sinker for this track.  It’s absolutely fabulous.  I also have to crank up the volume when the soulful “Been Waiting That Long” kicks in.  Sung by Frank Bey, who toured with the Otis Redding Review in the sixties, this killer song was written by Wright’s friend and mentor, the late, great Lonnie Mack.  Kyle’s funky bassline grabs ahold and doesn’t let go on “Warranty”, a smooth bluesy track featuring the lovely and silky vocal talents of Terrie Odabi. 

Wright pulls in the carefree and classic Motown sound on original track, “Good Loving Daddy”.  It’s a terrific listen for sure.  Playdate! winds down and closes out with the with the slow and wonderfully bluesy “Soul Blue”, which features the spectacular guitar sounds of Chris Cain.  This album is a definite keeper.